


The Heart's Family

by MelyndaR



Series: Common Ground series [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 03:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3921598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelyndaR/pseuds/MelyndaR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anastasia comes to Storybrooke... but she's also Annie, Jefferson's first wife, and she's in Storybrooke for Will Scarlet's sake, not Jefferson's or Grace's. Grace ends up dealing with these revelations and changes with the help of the people she's adopted as family, discovering along the way that love isn't easy, and she's very lucky to have as much of it as she does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Regina asked as she studied the woman standing outside the shop, looking excitedly… towards Will? “She’s not from Storybrooke? Who is she?”_

_Everyone’s attention turned to the window then, towards the blonde who’d just realized that the shop’s door was already unlocked._

_“Ana!” Will cried, jerking to his feet._

_Jefferson stood too, slowly, murmuring under his breath in shock, “Annie?”_

_Then both men suddenly declared at the same time, “That’s my wife!”_

* * *

Three days after Zelena had moved in with Jefferson and Grace, Grace had walked in the door after a shift at the library to see smoke roiling out of the oven. She’d yelped – Paige had wanted to panic – and darted around for as long as it took for her to identify why things were smoking and fix the issue. Once both she and Zelena – Jefferson wasn’t home yet – had calmed down and Zelena had explained, “I _do_ know how to cook; your contraptions are different and I’m not used to handling them alone yet” they had been fine. The two of them had opened windows and made a batch of cookies before Jefferson was home. After that moment of panic, making those cookies together had been their first step in really bonding.

And this moment right here in Golden Blends – with both her papa and Will Scarlet claiming “that’s my wife!” – this moment felt a lot like the first second she saw that smoke rolling out of the oven. It was better than that in a way, though, because no one had even taken her into account where she sat at the counter, allowed – at least for now – to be a silent observer. But it was worse too, because they were dealing with something far more important than smoke and cookies.

This woman was a human being and a stranger to Storybrooke. And if she _was_ Jefferson’s wife, that made her Grace’s _mother_! The mother she’d  never met, never even cared to meet since she’d gotten close to so many other “adopted” parents, the woman who’d left her and her papa when Grace was only an infant – and now she was _inside_ Golden Blends… and running towards Grace!

 _No!_ Grace nearly toppled off of her barstool trying to get away from the blonde. Then there were hands holding her steady, a warm voice breathing softly in her ear, “it’s okay” – Henry – and she was able to clear away some of the panic in her mind and look clearly at what was happening.

The woman wasn’t paying Grace any mind whatsoever; her concentration seemed zeroed in on Will Scarlet, who was still standing beside Grace at the counter.

“Ana!” Will murmured in awe, pulling the woman to him and kissing her, holding her, crying with joy over her presence here.

Grace had seen true love reunions before, and this was another one… but what did that mean if she was also Grace’s mother? Her papa’s wife? Will Scarlet’s wife?”

Regina said what they were all thinking when she asked sharply, “What is going on here?”

“Brilliant question!” Jefferson snapped.

Only then did the woman Will had called Anna – the same woman Jefferson knew as “Annie?” – notice he was there – but it was very obvious that she noticed. She jumped a mile back from Will and twisted around to face the table Jefferson was standing at, gasping his name as she paled.

“Hiya, Annie,” he drawled.

“You two know each other?” Will asked in confusion, gesturing between Anna and Jefferson.

Ana squirmed, answering without glancing away from Jefferson, “It’s complicated.”

“Not really,” Zelena spoke up dryly. “You married him, gave him a daughter, and then left them both. That’s pretty simple.”

“Wait,” Will spit out, looking at Anastasia in astonishment, “You have a _kid_?”

“It was a long time ago and we were married far too young! You try getting married and pregnant at _thirteen_ ; that will make anyone miserable out of their minds!” She whirled back to face Jefferson, ordering, “And don’t pretend like I was the only one who was unhappy; it was a _mercy_ that I left!”

“You want me to think it was a _mercy_ that you left me with an infant to go to another man?!”

“I did nothing of the sort! I was _thirteen_ ; all I wanted was a little adventure in my life – and you’ll be pleased to know I didn’t even manage that for quite a few years!”

“Then where _were you_?!”

“I returned to my mother in Sherwood Forest once I realized I wouldn’t be getting to Wonderland easily,” Anastasia answered archly. “I was a _child_ – far too young to be married to you as my step-father arranged – and if I couldn’t have adventure I wanted the comfort of my mother – which I got when I returned home, seeing as my step-father had died… until my step-sister married a prince and my mother’s expectations became too much to live with. By then, I’d met Will. We fell in love and found a way to Wonderland. I found _happiness_!” She paused, assessing Zelena just as much as Zelena was assessing her for a moment before she said in a little softer a tone, “And apparently you did too.”

 “It’s… a rather recent development,” Jefferson muttered, glancing at Grace over Anastasia’s shoulder. “And just because _I_ turned out okay, who’s to say that you didn’t hurt-“

Henry cut him off, snapping fiercely, “Shut up!”

Only when her true love spoke did Grace realize how far away his words sounded, how her fingernails were digging painfully into her palms… how she was desperately trying to remove herself from the reality of what was happening in front of her… and how very desperately she was failing in her attempt.

So she did the one thing she _knew_ would get her away from it – she ran.

She shoved Will out of her way and dodged the numerous hands that tried to stop her as she left, but it still felt like a ridiculous eternity before she finally got out the door, leaving behind the sound of her father calling out for her and Anastasia’s faint, “Is that… _her_?”


	2. Chapter 2

Instinctively Grace wanted to head to the library – Belle, the main woman in town that she went to, was almost always reachable there. Except right now she was in Golden Blends, the place Grace had just left and now refused to reenter. So Ruby was her next choice. She wheeled on her toes and set off at a full out run, going all of two steps before the first of her tears slipped down her cheek.

By the time she flew into Granny’s Diner, she knew she was a sobbing wreck, but she just couldn’t bring herself to care. She needed to talk to Ruby… and a place to hide! Only once she was inside with Ruby rounding the counter towards her, concern written all over her face, did Grace notice that at least four people had trailed her here and were about ten yards from coming into the diner.

“I can’t talk to them,” she choked out desperately to Ruby.

Still obviously wary and confused, Ruby nodded uncertainly, saying, “You can go sit in the washroom while I talk to them then. Ashley’s already in there; tell her she can stay with you if you want her to.”

No questions; just help the exact moment it was needed, and God bless Ruby for it. She nodded and darted into the washroom, not bothering to question any of it either. She made Ashley nearly hit the ceiling when she slammed the door closed behind her, leaning against the wooden surface and taking deep breaths with her eyes closed.

When she could gather enough breath, she whispered to herself, “Calm down, Grace.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Ashley commented and Grace’s eyes flew open as the woman asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t know Ashley, and even if she was a close friend of Ruby’s, Grace didn’t feel like divulging her suddenly _even more_ tumultuous personal life to a near-stranger. But Ashley apparently had different ideas.

As she folded a white towel, Ashley raised an eyebrow and said, “Let me rephrase: what’s wrong?”

Grace took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she moved away from the door and the voices she could hear on the other side of it – Henry, Jefferson, Anastasia, and Will – towards Ashley and the basket of laundry she was folding. “Nothing so long as I can hide out for a second.” And then came a not-so-subtle change in subject as she asked, “I thought you ran a mom’s group or something instead of working here?”

“I do, but Granny’s been a little short-staffed recently, so I volunteered to come back part-time until they can find a full-time waitress. Got any suggestions?”

Grace reached into the basket and picked up a towel – if she was going to be a refugee here then why not be a useful one? – as she answered, “No, sorry.”

“Okay,” Ashley eyed her again as she said, “In that case, let’s talk about you. You’re upset, and usually when you come around here looking this off-kilter that means you want – or at least need – to talk to someone. And, no,” she added, seeing the dubious look on Grace’s face. “You have to know better than to even think that Ruby would talk about what’s confided in her by you or anyone else; I’ve just noticed the pattern.”

There was a pause in which they both heard Jefferson raise his voice and Grace winced. Then Will chimed in with his two cents and finally… Anastasia’s voice, loud and clear, “Well, maybe if you’d just let me talk to my own daughter!”

Ashley’s entire expression changed, and Grace realized that somehow, some way, she _knew_. “Time for a new question.” She pointed to the door, demanding, “Is that Anastasia Tremaine – ah, her surname may be ‘Scarlet’ now.”

“You know her?”

“It’s complicated.”

“That seems to be the theme of the day!”

“She’s your mother, right?”

“Apparently so.”

“That’s what I thought,” Ashley nodded. “Well, it’s what I always assumed anyway.”

“How could you possibly know that?!”

“Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Then somebody _un-complicate_ something!”

Ashley winced away from the desperate pitch seeping into Grace’s voice as she replied softly, “She’s one of my step-sisters… Do you want me to go scope out the situation for you?”

 Grace could feel another sob bubbling, but she didn’t want to cry in front of this stranger, apparent step-aunt or not! “I… What’s going _on_?!”

“I don’t know, honey,” Ashley said apologetically. “How can I help? Let me help.”

Grace took a deep breath, forcing herself to pull it together and get her mind into gear. Someone had asked a question and she had to find an answer. _Questions_ … _Could Ashley answer the ones she had?_ “What went wrong in my parents’ marriage; do you know?”

“They were too young and dumb to make it work, from what I heard,” Ashley replied with a shake of her head. “Jefferson was twenty-one to Ana’s thirteen and it didn’t work. He didn’t understand that she was still a child, that she wanted to go places, see things,” she shrugged. “Live a life.”

Grace guessed darkly, “And a baby got in the way of that, pushed her over the edge into leaving.”

“I didn’t say that,” Ashley answered quickly – too quickly, Grace realized.

“Of course you didn’t; no one would even if it is the truth.”

“Looking back at it now, she was just a scared little girl who acted accordingly – too quickly, too rashly – and she paid for it too.”

Grace swallowed, asking faintly, “When she came back to her mother… did she ever miss me?”

“I’m sure she did,” Ashley replied, but Grace saw the look in her eye and guessed what it meant.

“She never even mentioned me, did she? Her,” Grace winced. “Boyfriend or whatever he is didn’t even know I existed.”

 Ashley was obviously scrambling to find a gentle way to answer the question as she replied, “Well, we weren’t exactly close. She hated my father and I… didn’t really have a good relationship with any of my step-family.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

“You’re Cinderella,” Grace snorted. “I know the story, how they treated you.”

“Yeah,” Ashley allowed, taking a deep breath as she thought something through. “But, honestly, for what it’s worth, if any of them treated me well, it was Anastasia.”

“’Well’?” Grace scoffed disbelievingly.

“Okay, how about ‘better than the others’? We were both well aware of what step-parents could be like, and when she came back from Jefferson, there were times when she would try to protect me from her mother. We were both so young… but I really don’t believe that she’s a truly _bad_ person, sweetie; she just got overwhelmed in shoes that were too big for her to fill at the time. Maybe you should give her a chance?”

“Why should I do something like that?” Grace snapped.

“Because,” Ashley folded her hands on the laundry basket and looked Grace steadily in the eye. “If you push her away without giving her a chance, that makes you just as childish as she was – just as guilty of the same crime. Doesn’t it?”

Grace dropped her head into her hands and groaned loudly in frustration, knowing that Ashley – was this woman her _aunt_? – was right.

“Listen,” Ashley said gently. “You’re overwhelmed yourself right now and freaking out, which – given the circumstances – is entirely reasonable. Let me go talk to them. Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a minute?” Grace nodded mutely and Ashley asked, “Who am I gonna find out there?”

I saw Papa, Henry, Anastasia, and Will Scarlet come after me. I’m pretty sure at least two more people were behind them.”

* * *

There were ten people standing at the counter talking about Grace by the time Ashley emerged into the dining area The four people Grace had predicted with Ruby, Baelfire, Emma, Belle, Mr. Gold, and… Zelena! Well that certainly explained why those ten were now completely alone in the room. The place would’ve instantly cleared – although possibly at Granny’s insistence – when the witch showed up. But how was she here? Though, more importantly at the moment was how Anastasia was here…

  “So,” Ashley spoke up carefully, making her presence known over the others arguing. “I have a niece.”

Anastasia whirled away from Ruby to face Ashley, eyes wide as she gasped, “Ella!”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that,” Ashley commented, stepping closer to the group with her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m Ashley in Storybrooke.”

“Will explained it like you were all… both,” Anastasia murmured.

Ashley shrugged, saying instead, “So… Grace is ticked.” She tilted her head to the side, correcting herself. “Petrified, actually, and she doesn’t know me, so I’m not getting anything out of her.”

“Where is she?” Anastasia demanded. “I want to talk to her.”

“Good luck with that,” Ashley snorted. “I’m getting the feeling that I only have half – or less – of the story, but it’s not hard to see that you must’ve really hurt her.”

“Abandoning a kid tends to do that,” Baelfire muttered under his breath.

“Where is she?” Henry asked. “Maybe I can calm her down; it’s been a really hectic day.”

“Apparently,” Ashley muttered, watching as Ruby whispered Grace’s location into Henry’s ear.

He nodded at Ruby before contemplating, “If I know my girl…” Then he reached out, one hand grabbing Belle’s wrist and the other Zelena’s as he tugged them both behind him.

“This is a joke, right?” Anastasia snorted in disgust. “She’s _my_ daughter; I have the right to see her too!”

Jefferson growled, “You have no rights whatsoever to be anywhere _near_ her!”

“Hey, mate!” Will protested, sliding protectively into the space between Jefferson and Ana. Ashley watched in shock as a fireball flared threateningly in Ana’s hand behind him, but Will didn’t seem surprised by it in the least; he just reached back and grabbed her wrist.

“Not in here!” Ruby demanded, glaring full-on daggers at Anastasia.

It was Baelfire who drawled, “How exactly would torching one of the people she’s closest to get you onto Grace’s good side?”

The fireball disappeared in a flash.

“Right now,” Mr. Gold told Ana. “Hard as it is, you’re going to have to trust the other people in this diner to care for Grace until we can get all of this worked out.”

Emma seconded, “You just… _showed up_ , and that’s got to be a shock for her on a day that was already stressful enough what with other things that were already going on… and before you ask, it’s a long story.”

“I think we’ll have the time before they can convince her to come back out here,” Ashley commented. “And quite frankly I’d like to hear it too.” She looked at Anastasia, asking, “How _did_ you and the Wicked Witch get here?”

“Regina brought Zelena back to life a couple of months ago,” Mr. Gold volunteered at Anastasia’s look of confusion. “As for Miss Tremaine, none of us really have any idea. Like Emma said, she just _appeared_ not even a half hour ago.”

“Rabbit,” Ana said as if that would mean something to them. “I asked him to locate Will for me after he disappeared, and I came here as soon as he found him. And my name is Anastasia _Scarlet_ now.”

“I didn’t even know you were lookin’ for me!” Will declared.

“I asked him to do it covertly unless you…” Ana shrugged, obviously uncertain. “Didn’t want to be found.”

“Of course I wanted to find you! Why wouldn’t I’ve?”

Ana shrugged again, sliding back into the brogue that Ashley associated with the _real_ Ana who’d been as close to a sister as she’d ever had. “Then why’d ya leave?”

“It was the second curse,” Mr. Gold realized. “You never _meant_ to leave your wife.”

“Right!” Will pulled Ana into his arms, murmuring tenderly against the top of our head, “Sure, we’ve had our problems, and we’ve had your issues, but we’re past all that, and I love ya forever. Where’s Rabbit now?”

“Back with his family.”

“In another realm,” Will winced. “So we can’t go back to Wonderland easily.”

Ana nodded, deciding slowly, “But I think that’s okay; I’d rather stay here and get to know Grace.”


	4. Chapter 4

Henry knocked on the washroom door, opening it as he asked tentatively, “Grace, can we come in?”

She flew into his arms before he was even all the way into the room. Belle and Zelena followed him into the space, where the redhead put a hand on her back as Belle murmured, “Talk to us.”

“Just… too much. I needed to get away, to breathe; I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Henry murmured. “It’s okay; we’ve got you.”

“I can’t… I can’t lose what I already have,” Grace muttered against Henry’s neck, for his ears alone.

But Belle heard her anyway, asking carefully, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Grace shook her head, refusing to reply. Henry sighed, whispering against her ear, “I really don’t think that’s gonna happen. If you’re still worried about Belle and Zelena, look at them right now. Where are they, what are they doing? They are here, right now, helping you – _mothering_ you – together. Isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“This is not what I want!” She tried to pull away, but he held her tightly against him, knowing that if _Grace_ – because this _wasn’t_ Paige – was falling apart, she needed the hug even if she didn’t want to admit it.

“Not even as a means to an end?” Henry asked carefully, quieter than ever. “What if rallying around you brings unlikely friends together?”

Grace reluctantly turned her head from Henry’s neck to look between Belle and Zelena, heads nearly touching as they leaned over her. “Fine,” she muttered under her breath, but nobody missed the smallest of smiles flitting about the corners of her mouth.

“Are you okay now?” Zelena asked her.

“Maybe,” Grace said thoughtfully, biting her lip as she considered before nodding.

Belle questioned carefully, “How do you feel about going back out and seeing your mother?”

Grace steeled herself with a deep breath as she straightened her spine, and this time her answer was firm as she replied, “Yeah.”

Henry hummed under his breath. This straight-backed, sharp-eyed teen was his Grace – strong to a fault for those that she loved best – but her heart wasn’t in it. She didn’t _want_ to be strong right now, she just… _was_ strong. And that meant that she was probably going to break down again later. He wanted to be there for that, to hold her through it – through all of it – but he knew there was a fair chance that wasn’t going to happen.

Even if Grace hadn’t come to the realization yet – and he knew she hadn’t – she had as many friends and family members now as she ever had as Paige before the curse broke. But maybe that was another thing that Anastasia’s appearance could show her.

“Come on,” he prompted, gripping her hand and not complaining when she returned the gesture so firmly that her nails bit into his palm. “If you’re sure you’re ready.”

Again she nodded, and he saw a young woman who was putting on a brave face and trying to convince herself as much as anyone else as she said, “I am.”

* * *

“Shoot me now,” Jefferson muttered under his breath before he asked Ana aloud, “What makes you think you getting to know Grace is going to become a reality?”

“What I think,” Ana replied. “Is that I’m stuck in Storybrooke anyway – which is fine so long as I’m with Will again – so I might as well take advantage of being this close to her.”

“You’re not close to her at all,” Jefferson snapped. “You don’t know anything about her. I don’t care if you move in next door to us – which you can’t do, by the way – you will never be close to her unless she’s willing to let you in. That’s just how she is – once bit, twice shy; wonder why? – and it seems pretty obvious to me that she wants nothing to do with you. No one here has any reason whatsoever to believe that you’re going to stick around, and she’s not going to be willing to put herself out there for you until she knows you’ll return the favor – which, in my experience, you won’t.”

“No offense,” Anastasia bit out. “But you don’t know me anymore. You have _less_ than no idea what I have been through, and at this point, I will do _whatever it takes_ to get to know my daughter. I may be late into the picture, but if I have the chance to get into her life at all, I _will_ take it.”

“Not if she doesn’t want to give it to you, you won’t. You didn’t even know she and I were here until you saw us in the coffee shop!”

“But you are here – _she’s_ here! Shouldn’t that mean something?!”

Baelfire broke in loudly, declaring over their argument, “It means that _Grace_ has a choice to make over whether or not she wants Anastasia in her life. She’s seventeen and pretty capable of doing whatever she wants once she sets her mind to it – whether that means gravitating _towards_ her mother, or running as far away from her as she can. Jefferson’s right in that respect; we all know her well enough to know that nobody’s making this decision for her but her.”

“Then is there anything that I can do to convince her that I’m serious about getting to know her?” Ana asked a little desperately.

“How could you possibly be serious about it?!” Jefferson scoffed. “You just realized not an hour ago that she was here in town! Your focus was on,” he waved dismissively towards Will. “Him to begin with, and life would be a lot simpler if you just kept it there and kept out of our lives.”

“We both know I’m impulsive,” Ana shot back. “And that when _I_ set _my_ mind to something, I’ll achieve it too; Grace gets that from me. So I’ll ask again: how can I prove that I’m going to stick around?”

Ashley answered thoughtfully while looking pointedly at Red, “Get a job.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Ruby asked skeptically.

Ashley bargained, “I’ll train her myself.”

Jefferson groaned aloud as Ruby rolled her eyes and muttered, “I can’t believe I’m doing this…” before she declared. “Fine. Ashley can train you, Anastasia; you’ll start here Monday… but if you hurt Grace, you won’t want to be in town on a full moon night.”


	5. Chapter 5

“It’ll be laundry and waitress work,” Ashley was explaining to a confused-looking Anastasia as Grace let Henry guide her back to the dining area.

“Where are you going to live?” Ruby asked. “Granny’s got a couple of extra rooms if you need one.”

“She’ll stay with me, of course,” Will replied, looking as if he was offended by any other possibility.

“Great…” Grace muttered under her breath as she realized what was happening. Anastasia planned on staying in town… with Will Scarlet… who – wait a second! – was apparently Grace’s stepfather! “No!” she moaned aloud at the realization.

Henry shot her a concerned, questioning look as every person in the room turned towards her. Well, at least they weren’t staring at Zelena like she had been afraid they would be… Wow, that concern seemed like it had been a priority ages ago, not less than an hour ago! It would come up again later, she knew that, but for right now at least Zelena wasn’t in danger of being mobbed… was she?

A quick glance outside showed that the customers who had vacated the diner hadn’t rallied their fellow citizens into a frenzy… yet… But unfortunately that left plenty of time for the mother-daughter reunion that Anastasia obviously wanted.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Jefferson asked her.

She shook her head, not about to delve into having a stepfather until that conversation absolutely could not be avoided – certainly not with both her papa and Will in the room. Will seemingly hadn’t even known she existed, and he didn’t seem like the paternal type; maybe, if she was lucky, it would never be an issue. Less family drama would be nice for a change.

“Grace,” Anastasia asked carefully, worrying at her lip with wide eyes. “Can we sit down and talk? I want a chance to apologize, explain…”

She wanted to say “no.” She wanted to run again. She wanted this woman to crawl back into whatever hole she’d come from and disappear. She didn’t need her, want her, or even like her, and that was all that there was to it.

But as Grace finally made herself meet this woman’s eyes, fully prepared to tell her all of this, she saw something else – something familiar. Pleading desperation filling blue eyes, and behind that… love she didn’t dare express because of fear coming from the assumption that her love would be rejected. Anastasia _wanted_ to be allowed to love Grace, to become a _real_ parent to her, but already she assumed the idea would be rejected.

Grace wanted that assumption to be the truth, and ultimately it _was_ her decision, but that look in Anastasia’s eyes stopped her cold. She recognized it. Not long ago at all, it had been in Zelena’s eyes _all the time,_ and only once Grace had opened up to Zelena and Zelena to Grace had that look gone away, replaced by nothing but _love_ , and now they considered each other family. But Grace had seen that look previous to Zelena… years before, at a bus stop soon after the first curse broke, when she’d heard a voice from her past, one that she’d desperately wanted in her future. When he’d called to her, she’d run to him. She’d encouraged Henry to give Regina a second chance to be his mother, and to let Zelena be an aunt.

If she was going to encourage him to do so, if she was going to do it herself with some people… then she’d put herself in the position to have to do it here.

So even though she wanted to cling like a child to her papa and even Zelena, to hide behind Baelfire – because they both knew he would _never_ make her do this if she didn’t want to – she sighed with resignation and flopped down into a chair at a nearby table – the only invitation Anastasia was going to get – declaring flatly, “Ashley already tried to explain.”

Anastasia spared a small smile for her stepsister as she sat down across from Grace, and Ashley returned the gesture. Grace wanted to snap at Ashley suddenly and demand how she could do that after the obviously rocky history between them and –

She pulled her train of thought up short with a sharp realization.

-And this was nothing like her. She knew better than to think and act like this! It wasn’t as though Paige was panicking; this was her – Grace… pouting!

_No!_

She did not pout – ever! She knew how to comfort Belle, sweet-talk Rumplestiltskin, make the Evil Queen smile, and calm the Mad Hatter! She didn’t throw a fit – that _was_ all that she was doing, wasn’t it? – just because she had been caught off guard! She could and would put her best foot forward. Just like always, she had to, didn’t she?

So she stretched a wary half-smile across her face and watched as Ashley disappeared back into the washroom.

 That seemed to start a trend, and Belle squeezed Grace’s shoulder, saying, “Call if you need me,” as she left with her husband.

Emma left at the same time, but she went by herself after Baelfire declared firmly, “I’m staying for Grace and Henry,” and plunked down on a barstool beside Henry. Father and son weren’t leaving, but they were giving Grace and Anastasia space to talk outside of earshot unless they started raising their voices.

Will seemed to like that idea and sat down at the opposite end of the bar, not wanting to leave his true love.

Jefferson moved to sit down beside Will, but Zelena gripped his wrist, murmuring, “You’re going to make them all too nervous and they’ll spend the whole time eyeing us instead of talking like they need to. Let’s go; you know you can entrust her to Baelfire and Ruby.” Hearing their names, both adults nodded solemnly at Jefferson, and only then did he unhappily allow Zelena to pull him out of the diner.

Mother and daughter looked nervously around at who remained, taking twin deep breaths to calm themselves. Red was hovering behind the counter, washing it off; Will sat at one end of the counter wringing his hands and muttering to himself while Henry and Baelfire were having a whispered conversation at the other end. And across from one another at a table sat Anastasia and Grace, both of whom were at a loss of what to say.


	6. Chapter 6

_No_ , Grace mused inwardly to herself, that wasn’t entirely true. She had a _great_ number of things she wanted to say to this woman, but she wouldn’t let herself.

So Anastasia spoke first. “I’m sorry.”

 _Sorry…? Sorry you left? Sorry you hurt me? Hurt Papa? Sorry I was born_?

“I’m still angry.” The words were out of her mouth before she registered them – they wouldn’t have _come out_ otherwise – and they weren’t even original to her. Baelfire had said them to Rumplestiltskin first and told her about it years later. But, oh, they were so true!

She hadn’t even known she was angry with the woman who’d given birth to her until she’d laid eye on her, but she was!

“That’s understandable,” Anastasia agreed, turning those brokenly hopeful eyes back onto her as she said, “But I do wish you would give me a chance to get to know you. I’ve loved you since long before I even knew what to do with love, and I’d like the chance to prove it.”

“You forgot about Papa… and me,” she said bluntly.

“Never!” Anastasia shook her head rapidly, tears already springing into her eyes. “I was too young and selfish when you were born to be a good mother to you and I knew it; your father and I had never been in love, never been a real couple. It was going to be more toxic for me to stay than to leave… so I left. Yes, there was a part of me that simply wanted to see the world and that was easier to tell Jefferson, but I also wanted to give you – an d Jefferson… your best chance… and that was going to be without me. At thirteen, I did what I thought was best. I’m sorry if that decision had a negative effect on your past, but I would like to be there for you to see your future.”

 Yet Grace had stopped listening two sentences ago, and when Anastasia was finished, she repeated dryly, “’Your best chance’? Did Emma tell you to say that?”

“What?” Anastasia asked in confusion. “Who’s Emma?”

“The blonde who just left. It’s a long story and I’m not going to explain it right now.”

The hope was painfully obvious in Anastasia’s voice as she grasped at the slight implication, “So we will talk a second time after this?”

Grace leaned back in her chair and surveyed Anastasia with eyes that she knew were so hard she barely believed that they were her own. “We’ll see.”

“I would love that,” Anastasia offered tenderly.

 _I would’ve loved to have you around whenever I needed you._ The retort was on the tip of her tongue, more words with a poisonous tone that she knew better than to say, and she looked away from Anastasia and out the window before the declaration flew out anyway. Her pent up thoughts and emotions settled like a stone in her chest making it difficult to breathe.

She needed to reply, to talk, to say the _right_ thing, the _helpful_ thing, but for the first time in a long time she didn’t trust herself to speak. She’d been in this position before, while adjusting to a life as lonely little Grace with Jefferson in Storybrooke, and it had taken her a long time to gain any semblance of real confidence without going at a situation as Paige. Grace liked to keep things calm, to fix it when things weren’t calm; as the Mad Hatter’s daughter she was _used_ to doing so! Right now, though, she could feel herself slipping back, regressing into that uncertain little child – and it terrified her! She _could not_ go back to that! She _couldn’t_ be that scared or _lonely_ again! _She couldn’t!_

 The view outside the window faded out of her focus as she receded into her desperate thoughts. She didn’t realize when she began to cry silently, when it began to get truly difficult to breathe. She was panicking and she didn’t even hear when Anastasia called out to her from inches away, sounding a little terrified herself. Grace only vaguely registered strong arms scooping her up and relocating her to a different part of the diner. Only when she heard metal scraping on concrete, felt freezing air against her sweating skin did her tongue loosen enough to string words together as it registered that Baelfire was the one who had picked her up and was now sitting down and settling her in beside him.

She curled into him, burying her face in his side as she muttered brokenly, “Can’t. Don’t want her. Don’t like her. Don’t need her. Can’t, can’t, can’t!”

And just like that, she was once again panicking so badly she couldn’t even speak. Henry and Baelfire were both talking to her and Ruby was bursting into wherever they were, but it all went unnoticed as a bleary buzz in the back of her mind while stress that had been building since Zelena’s appearance found an outlet in the worst way.

Then there was two _more_ people in the cramped space and one of them was shoving something into her hand, demanding, “Eat this; it’ll help.” When she didn’t comply – still too out of it to understand what was being asked of her – he physically lifted her hand to her mouth and demanded sharply, “Eat. It’ll bring you back to us, I swear.”

He was right… because the next thing Grace knew she stopped seeing the broken memories inside of her head and was able to focus on the face hovering in front of her – and she nearly jumped a mile out of her skin when she realized that she was staring at Will Scarlet. Then she was gagging on what had ended up on her mouth because it was _sour_!

“That’s disgusting!” she complained.

Will raised an eyebrow, commenting, “But it worked, didn’t it? Relax; it’s just candy – called a ‘warhead.’”

She pulled a face, scraping her tongue over her teeth as she forced herself to swallow the jawbreaker-like piece of candy so that she could demand, “Why did you do that?!”


	7. Chapter 7

“You were having a panic attack, and the easiest way to draw someone out of one of those is through the five senses,” Will muttered uneasily. “Taste works best, and the best taste is something sour,” he raised an eyebrow again. “Thus the warheads.”

“So, what, you just carry them around in your pocket for no good reason?” she grumbled.

“Version of an old habit,” Will replied with a begrudging shrug.

Anastasia, who had come into… the freezer… with Will – Baelfire had carried her into the walk-in _freezer_ when she’d needed some space from her returned mother – mumbled, “He has a little experience dealing with panic attacks.”

“More broadly known around in this world as PTSD,” Will supplied, and Grace didn’t miss the way that he reached behind him to encase Anastasia’s hand in his own, a comforting gesture that had Grace’s mind firing off questions and red flags that she wasn’t sure she wanted answers to.

PTSD was a world away from having panic attacks… but when Grace cocked her head to the side and studied Will, she saw that he knew what he was talking about. How? Why? Had Anastasia done things that were _that_ regrettable? Not that she wanted to put it past her, but still… she wanted to know, to… be aware, in case something came up. She’d always been that way with all of the people in her little group, and at some level, Anastasia was apparently going to be no exception.

But the question was: why did Grace even want to know? Mere curiosity? Almost never. For the sake of her adopted family? Possibly. To help Grace understand her mother? Probably not; why should she even care?

Then came the little voice in the back of her head – the good one, the one she always tried to keep at the fore of her thought processes, the one she trusted… but found that she didn’t care for at the moment as it whispered the suggestion: _To help Anastasia?_

That was Grace’s inclination and she knew it; it always had been with the Mad Hatter and in the back of her mind it was here too. The thing was, now that she knew she was angry, she _wanted_ to be angry with Anastasia; that was her right, wasn’t it? She’d been abandoned, and it was _normal_ for that to make her angry, so that she’d seen.

_Think of Zelena… even Baelfire! Even Belle didn’t talk to her dad for awhile when she got out of the asylum!_

But she knew where those trains of thought led, too… Zelena – Zelena had turned herself into the literally-green-with-envy Wicked Witch over it, and she’d fought hard to come down from that pain that she’d fostered! Baelfire had run for literal centuries to get and stay away from his father, and it had taken his death and resurrection to get them to truly be father and son again. Belle… who had in many ways become a mother to Grace – she too had fought her own inner demons where Mo French was concerned to get their relationship back to the point where he had walked her down the wedding aisle.

And she wasn’t even going to go into the mess that was Rumplestiltskin and Pan’s relationship.

Grace had seen what happened when bitterness and anger were the main things you allowed yourself to feel towards someone, and it was never good, never beneficial towards either person. She didn’t want that for herself, and if Anastasia really was as troubled as she and Will were implying, then she didn’t even want it for her mother. Maybe she didn’t anyway, for that matter.

Fine, she didn’t want her to be miserable, but she wanted to be angry with her! But she didn’t want to be angry with her either! She _wanted_ to stop feeling so many confusing things at once! She wanted to _scream_! She wanted to turn off the rational side of her brain and throw a fit, but she knew how badly she needed to be rational right now.

In the end, she shut it all away in the back of her mind. Anastasia wanted to talk, and that much she could force herself to do – make useless small talk for a half an hour. Then her father came back to rescue her, conveniently reminding her that she had a shift at the library starting in ten minutes.

She jumped up from her chair at his proclamation, just quick enough to make a frown tip down the corners of Anastasia’s mouth. “Are you sure you can’t stay a little while longer?”

“Sorry,” Grace said absently. “I can’t be late for work.” She could, actually; few enough people came into the library most days that Belle was never overwhelmed on days that she didn’t come in _at all_ , but if the excuse was there, Grace was taking it today, and she was going to run with it.

“Very well,” Anastasia agreed, obviously not wanting her to leave, but far from being able to convince her to stay – not when the alternative was the warm familiarity of the library and Belle’s presence. She asked hopefully, “But we will meet again?”

 “Possibly,” Grace sighed. “Probably. Yeah, eventually; it’s probably going to be inevitable.”

“I can’t wait,” Anastasia grinned.

It struck Grace that there was at least one way that they were alike: when they wanted to, they were both good at pretending that nothing was wrong even as things fell apart. But not this time, not with this, not with building a relationship between mother and daughter.

If they wanted to construct something truly good and familial between them, then they were both going to have to be open and honest in order to put the pain of the past behind them. She was going to have to find a way to do the exact opposite of what she’d done today.

Even as the thoughts rolled around in her mind, she walked away from the table and out of the diner.


	8. Chapter 8

Jefferson was right behind Grace, and as soon as they were outdoors, she muttered, “Thank god; I thought I was going to die before I figured out a way to get away from her!”

It was such a Paige thing to say that Grace winced, but her papa let it slide, asking, “What did you think of her?”

“She smiles too much.”

“Hm. Then she’s not the Annie I married.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets as they walked together towards the library, commenting, “She was probably just that happy to see you.”

“She was trying to pretend nothing was wrong.”

“Weren’t you doing the same thing? Don’t we all sometimes?”

Grace stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, spinning to face him as she demanded fiercely, “Who’s side are you on?!”

He sighed, asking gently, “Why does there have to be sides?”

“Because she left!”

He took a deep breath and the words were barely audible as he pointed out, “So did I.” She covered her face with her hands, barely suppressing the urge – it was becoming something of a _need_ by now – to scream as he continued carefully, “Listen, I don’t like this anymore than you do, but it’s happening whether or not we like it… and, honestly, sweetie, I do understand where she’s coming from. She’s terrified you’ll hold this against her forever.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Grace snapped.

“Why should you?” he queried gently.

“See, you are on her side!”

That wasn’t true, and logically she knew that, but she’d never wanted to be as illogical as she did right now. He was trying to calm her, get her to see things rationally, even while she wondered if she might be losing her mind. It was a total role reversal from the norm that should’ve set off warning bells for her own behavior and she couldn’t even bring herself to care.

“There are no sides!” Jefferson declared. “There’s just a parent, trying the best they know how to show you they care.”

“Then she’s failing!”

“Honey, I saw you when I walked back into the diner; all of your walls were already up too high for her to do anything _but_ fail because you weren’t giving her a chance to do anything else.”

His tone was perfectly calm – soothing, even – and his words were all true, but to have them come from him stung beyond all reason – but then, she was well beyond reason already. She growled, a sound of nearly feral frustration, hating him in that moment, before she spun on her heel and bolted for the second time that day, not even bothering to head in any specific direction.

Her papa’s frustrated sigh followed her, but he didn’t give chase, just called after her, “You’re really going to have to stop doing that!”

She refused to admit to herself just how correct he was and kept right on running. Running, running, running, until she reached the docks – the waterfront version of the town line. This time not even running had helped to abate her oppressively dark emotions and she could run no further without backtracking the way she’d come – and chancing running into her papa. She huffed, flopping down onto a bench overlooking the water.

“You alright, lass?” a familiar masculine brogue asked, a hook and a hand falling onto the edge of the bench’s back. “Emma returned to the coffee shop and told us what happened.”

“No, I am not alright,” she replied in a clipped tone.

“I thought not.” He rounded the bench and stared down at her as he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“With you?” she snorted, completely beyond caring who she offended. “No.”

  “I’ve never done anything to you, not in all the time we’ve known each other!” Hook objected.

“Never done anything _for_ me, either,” she shot back.

“True enough. Am I to assume that your opinion of me is gleaned from Baelfire then?” Grace pursed her lips and looked behind him at the water, but her silence was answer enough and Hook said, “Ah, I see. Well, I’ll have you know that Bae has a bit of a selective memory when it comes to me. But,” he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at her. “You obviously aren’t in the mood for conversation. Are you any good with a sword.”

“What?” she laughed dryly. “No; I prefer knowledge over knocking off heads.”

“Ever Belle’s assistant,” he muttered, beckoning for her to follow him as he turned and walked towards the Jolly Roger, saying, “Let’s see if I can’t change your opinion.”

After the day she’d been having, she would never know what compelled her to follow the pirate onto the ship that doubled as his and Milah’s home, but she did.

“Stay here;” he ordered and slipped below deck, reemerging within a minute, a small sword in his hand.

 He handed it to her and she shifted it uncomfortably in her grasp, demanding, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Whatever you want,” he shrugged. “All the things you’re thinking right now are going to come out eventually, so why not here and now with someone who won’t be bothered by it? You want to fight? I’ll spar with you, and be careful about it. You want to beat something up?” He nodded to the sword in her hand. “Take it out on my ship; you wouldn’t be the first. If you just want to scream at someone… well, you wouldn’t be the first to do that at me either.” He stepped back from her and gestured at the expanse of his deck. “Do what you wish.”

  She looked at him skeptically, but he met her gaze confidently until she rolled her eyes dismissively and experimentally cut through the air with the sword a couple of times, getting a feel for it. The third time she swung, she spun around and let the blade bit shallowly into a mast. One, two, three, four times she sliced into the thick mask until she forgot Hook was even there. The blows weren’t doing any concerning damage to the ship, but having a physical outlet was helping Grace.


	9. Chapter 9

She wouldn’t scream uselessly, but at some point she began to speak, asking the air the questions she hadn’t dared to voice to her parents – questions that she was starting to realize had merely been tucked away since long before Anastasia’s appearing earlier in the day. Pain that had been somewhere inside of her since the first moment she realized her papa was going to be late for tea in the Enchanted Forest. Uncertainties that had lurked since she noticed that she was the only girl in her village without a mother… and then came tears like she hadn’t cried since the first night she’d admitted to  herself that Papa had abandoned her with their neighbors.

Before long, the blade stopped swinging and after a moment it was dropped to the deck with a clatter. Grace followed, sliding down the side of the ship to sit on the polished deck as she sobbed, pulling her feet in to bury her face in her knees. Hook approached with careful steps, taking the sword she’d been using in hand as he crouched in front of her. She’d forgotten he was there, so he still startled her and she hurriedly wiped away her tears – it was pathetic how many times she’d lost it today – even thought she knew her eyes were still red as she looked over at him.

He sensed her embarrassment easily and looked down at the weapon he was turning in his hands as he said, somehow looking as uncomfortable as she felt, “I’m not going to tell you to talk to your mother; you’ll hear that enough from others. I’ve been abandoned by my father too, so I understand how that feels… but I’ve also been the potential parent being pushed away by a child I want to love.” He swallowed before he said, gruff in an attempt to cover up his discomfort, “And the only thing I think you might be interested in knowing is that those two types of being left behind can hurt a lot the same way.” He stood, effectively giving her permission to leave, and she scrambled to her feet as well as he said simply, “Do with that as you will.” A pause in which Grace watched Hook not return her gaze and then he tacked on, “But right now, aren’t you late for work?”

Grace blinked, jerking a few steps towards the gangplank as she answered, “Right.” Halfway down the walkway, she paused and turned around to look at Hook, who was eyeing her from underneath his eyelashes. “Thank you.”

He raised his eyebrows, muttering, “Don’t mention it.”

Grace smiled, understanding just how much he meant that remark as she replied, “I won’t.”

It was a promise, the end of the whole odd episode, but somehow being able to so thoroughly let loose had helped her, and she stepped onto the dock with her smile still in place. Yet Hook had given her a new thing to consider, and she mulled it over as she walked to the library.

_Those two types of being left behind can hurt a lot the same way._

Now more than ever she knew what she had to do… and she felt that she just might be capable of doing it, considering how much more like herself she felt after her explosion on the Jolly Roger. She _didn’t_ want her mother, or anyone, to be hurt the way she had been, and she certainly didn’t want to be the one to inflict that pain. Getting her questions, pain, and fury out into the air had freed something inside of her and she felt ready to face Anastasia once again – ready to give her a real chance.

But she wouldn’t go into this blind. She would start at the library – and, judging from what little Jefferson had told her of her mother over the years, with Lewis Carroll.

Belle’s eyes snapped to her when she went into the library, and Grace smiled halfheartedly as she approached the woman behind the circulation desk. “I thought you might’ve decided not to come in today. I understand if you would rather not work at the moment. You’ve had a _miraculously_ long day.”

“So have you and Rumplestiltskin, considering who else was at Golden Blends.”

“He’s doing alright; the seer knew she was coming, apparently, which has made this much easier on him.”

“Good for him, and I mean that. Sorry about my freak out earlier; I’m better now.”

“Glad to hear it,” Belle replied. “And the ‘freak out’ was justified, if I may say so myself.” She eyed her before she asked, “You’re not here to work, are you?”

“I want to do some research, actually, if you don’t mind.”

“I’m always in favor of research,” Belle replied with a grin.

Grace smiled, thanking her before heading straight for the “C” aisle. If Anastasia had been in Wonderland like she’d always seemed to want, then maybe she had been in Carroll’s _Alice_ books. If hearing about Belle’s research on the Wicked Witch through _The Wizard of Oz_ had taught her anything it was that even in the midst of fiction, one could find a grain of truth.

That didn’t mean that it would be easy to find the grain of truth, though, certainly not in a story as strange as _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_. Until she ran across an obvious anomaly. Maybe it was nothing, but seeing as she’d found nothing on “Anastasia,” just getting up from the table where she’d stationed herself with any Wonderland-related books sounded like a nice change.

So she grabbed the book and hunted Belle down, inquiring, “Who tore the illustration out of this book?”

It had been completely removed and then carefully taped back in by Belle.

“Will Scarlet,” Belle looked at her curiously. “Why? Do you think you found something?”

“Maybe,” Grace murmured, wanting to face palm for her own oversight. She should’ve _known_ to look for Anastasia under a different name! She tucked her book under her arm and hurried back to her table, ready to begin a new search.

It was time to study the Red Queen.

 


	10. Chapter 10

A while later, Belle came over to her table, declaring, “I’m about to lock up; you’d better come out with me.” Grace didn’t even look up from what she was reading, so Belle sat down in the chair across from her, saying, “Grace?”

“I’m fine;” the teen jumped up too quickly, declaring, “Let’s go.”

Belle looked her over curiously as she stood to her feet, asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Fine,” Grace lied easily.

“You keep saying that,” Belle pointed out. “Lacey has a saying about ‘fine.’ When a woman says she’s ‘fine,’ what she really means is that she’s _f_ reaking out, _i_ nsecure, _n_ eurotic, and _e_ motional. Somehow I think that’s what you’re saying.”

“Really, Belle, I’m okay,” Grace sighed. “I’ve had a couple of good cries, as many conversations, I’ve done some research, and I’m doing much better. I’ll come back in tomorrow and put all these books away before the library opens. You gave me a key last week, remember?”

“If you’re sure you’re okay,” Belle murmured, still searching her face.

“I am,” Grace promised.

But they both knew that it was a lie that Grace was simply being allowed to get away with. But she _was_ getting away with it, and at the moment, that was all that she needed. They walked together out of the library and went opposite ways – Belle towards the pawn shop, and Grace ostensibly towards her father’s house near the edge of town. Grace looked over her shoulder as she walked, and once she was sure that Belle was out of sight, she doubled back towards the library, darting quickly through back alleys to stay unseen until she was once again in front of the library. She unlocked the door and went quickly into the darkened building, locking it again from the inside. She took her phone out of her pocket, using the light of the screen to make her way back to the table laden with books.

Grace stacked them all into a pile and hefted them into her arms, toting them back to an armchair with a reading lamp whose light wouldn’t be seen through any of the windows. Setting the books on the floor beside the chair, she flopped down into the chair and got right back to work.

When enough time had passed that she would’ve been very near her house had she walked there from the library like Belle thought she had, she fired off a text to her father – _Spending the night at the Gold’s_ – and then sent another one to Belle – _Got home safe._ Oh, the glory of having multiple bolt holes. She thought for a moment about sending a few more out – maybe to Red and Neal and perhaps even Regina – just to confuse the wires a little more, but decided against it. She didn’t want what she was doing to become obvious or even come into question.

This way there was a chance that she would be able to stay here overnight and continue to find what she could about the Red Queen. After all, it wasn’t as though she was going to be able to sleep after the events of the day, anyway.

And that would’ve been without the added revelation of who her biological actually was in Carroll’s stories. She _was_ the Red Queen… and Grace just wished that she knew what that actually meant here in Storybrooke where she and the real Anastasia were concerned. It was one of those things that she desperately wanted to know… but was afraid to know, at the same time. But she had to try, right?

Yet, no matter what her intentions were, she ended up falling asleep and found herself waking up at dawn, an open book on her chest, another couple sliding off of her lap, and even more in a jumble on the floor at her feet. She murmured something crude under her breath, moving slowly as she kneaded the tension out of her aching neck and shoulders. She was about to stomp her feet in an effort to try and wake them up but froze when she heard the library door squeak on its hinges as it opened.

It was far too early for anyone – even Belle – to be coming in here.

Grace sat up straight, grabbing a book and considering her odds of getting out of here unscathed if she had to crack someone over the head with it in order to do so. Depending on the intruder, the odds weren’t likely to be good.

Then she heard the last voice she’d expected hiss, “Really, Will? There’s no reason to break in here! This place opens soon! Why do I have to see something _right now_?”

“Oh, no!”

Grace didn’t realize she’d whispered the words aloud until the two coming into the library stopped just as the door closed behind them and Will ordered Anastasia softly, “Stay here.”

“I don’t think so!” Anastasia bit back at him, and so it was together that they silently made their way down an aisle towards where Grace waited with bated breath.

Will poked his head around the edge of a bookshelf and his expression transformed from wariness to amused surprise as he said loudly, “Well, look who we have here!”

Grace winced and curled into herself, allowing another book from her lap to drop to the floor with a loud thud. Anastasia came from around the corner and beamed when she saw Grace as Will stepped forward and picked up the book that had fallen. Grace winced when she realized just which one it was.

“ _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ ,” Will muttered. “Always did find this book awfully interesting. What did you think of it? Better yet, why are you interested in it? It’s the exact book I wanted to show Ana.”

Grace was saved from answering when Anastasia stepped up behind Will and looked at the book over his shoulder, inquiring, “What’s so important about this book that you wanted to break into this place for it?”


	11. Chapter 11

Anastasia glanced around, adding, “What is this place anyway?”

“It’s called a public library,” Will answered. “Rather self-explanatory – you can get books on loan once you have a library card.”

“You like books?” Anastasia asked Grace approvingly.

She corrected, “I like _stories_ ,and those are often easiest found in books.”

“ _Anywho_ ,” Will said loudly, tapping the cover of the book he held as he regained the girls’ attention. “This book is…” he looked at Anastasia and she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and grinned lovingly at him. “It’s kind of our story… but at the same time it’s not either. It _is_ ,” here he glanced at Grace. “The closest thing to a story you’ll find on us in this realm.”

“What about in other realms?” Grace asked, catching the possible implication.

He shrugged. “How should I know? I’d imagine the queen of Wonderland is a topic of conversation in her own realm, though, at least.”

“You are the queen of Wonderland, then?”

Anastasia replied, “Only through marriage.”

And that was Grace’s grain of truth in the midst of the fiction.

Then she was struck with a thought, asking in near-disgust, “How many times have you been married?!”

Will muttered something that he purposely kept unintelligible and Anastasia took a deep breath before she murmured, “Three times – but the king is dead.”

“Papa isn’t,” Grace pointed out dryly.

“We discussed that already, didn’t we?” Anastasia asked a little tensely. “He and I will never… get back together.”

“Goodness, no!” Grace yelped, scrunching up her nose in distaste. “Zelena is his true love, and you mentioned when we talked yesterday that Will is yours. I’m simply making an observation: Papa is alive.”

“Good for him,” Will muttered under his breath.

“Stop it,” Grace demanded, rolling her eyes at him. “He’s no competition to you for her majesty’s affections; he hasn’t even had Zelena back for very long.”

“So you and Zelena are close?” Anastasia asked casually, but Grace was quick to see straight to the heart of the question. Anastasia wanted to know if she had competition for her _daughter’s_ affection.

_Where do I even begin?_

Grace bit back an admittedly mean smirk at the thought and answered simply, “Yeah.”

“You’re aligning yourself with the Wicked Witch?” Will burst out.

Grace replied evenly, “You’re aligning yourself with the Red Queen, and she doesn’t seem to be a lily white hero, from what little I can find.”

Will’s expression twitched with irritation as he looked away from her, muttering another oath under his breath. She had hit a nerve, Grace realized, and probably a decently old one, considering his reaction to it.

“No,” Anastasia spoke up carefully, coming around Will to stand between her husband and her daughter as she watched the latter. “I was never that. But in some good stories, there is such a thing as a redemption arc, isn’t there? I feel like I had one of those. In any case, my villainous days are over; I achieved what I wanted to. I got back the love of my life.”

She gave Will another adoring smile as Grace bit her lip, thinking over the idea of a redemption arc. The Evil Queen, the Wicked Witch, even Rumplestiltskin when Pan was in town… yes, redemption arcs definitely happened. So why not to the Red Queen? Grace had decided to give Anastasia a chance, which meant that she at least had to entertain the idea. Better yet…

She asked curiously, “So what’s the story there?”

“Actually,” Anastasia remarked. “That story’s been recorded – accurately – by a friend of ours. She came to visit me in Wonderland when Will disappeared because Storybrooke’s second curse and she brought the book she’d written with her. She thought it might help my grieving somehow, and I brought it here with me because I wanted to show it to Will. It’s with my little bundle of things back at his apartment; maybe you’d like to read it yourself? If it’s information on me you’re looking for, I swear Alice’s tale will be more accurate than,” she looked again at the book Will held, “Lewis Carroll’s.”

“Is Alice-the-author’s name Alice Liddle? “Grace asked, already anticipating the answer.

“Why, yes!”

“Of course it is,” Grace murmured before she stumbled to her feet, allowing the last of the books in her lap to fall as she sighed before informing them, “That sounds like the exact story I want and I’d be more than happy to read it, but I can’t go anywhere with you just now. Right now, I have to reshelf these books, and then I’ll probably… see if anyone is awake at the Charmings’ loft.”

“That’s where the boy that you mentioned, Henry, lives, right?” Anastasia asked, surprising Grace when she crouched down to help her pick up the books on the floor.

“Yeah, with… geez, let me think. Snow White, Prince Charming, their two children, and their daughter’s husband.”

“He was the man who swept you away yesterday?”

 “Baelfire,” Grace said fondly. “He’s… important to me.”

“As good as your father-in-law, from what I’ve seen of you and Henry around town,” Will volunteered dryly.

Grace bit back a grin and didn’t even bother to deny it. Long gone were the days when she and Henry met only in relative secrecy, and she was glad. What she did say was, “He’s helped me through some things, or helped me deal with some of the facts of my life, I suppose you could say.”

“Such as?” Anastasia asked, both of them standing as she gestured for Grace to lead the way to the proper bookshelf.

Grace headed in the desired direction and Will and Anastasia trailed her as she answered, “His father’s the Dark One; mine is the Mad Hatter. That can be a little unnerving, and quite frankly it puts a rather impressive damper on one’s social life. There had been some issues that we’ve just been able to bond over through that. Having Henry around to introduce us has honestly just been reduced to a jumping off point over the years, and I mean that in the best possible way.”

“Are there any other parental figures we should know about?”

The blunt question from Will surprised Grace, as did the sheer number of faces that flew through her mind’s eye, and she leaned against the bookshelf to consider it.


	12. Chapter 12

 

“There’s Papa and Zelena, of course. Belle and Baelfire, and Emma and Rumplestiltskin, too. Regina and Daniel _are_ some pretty awesome ‘in-laws’;” Grace added with a joking smile. “And Red and Archie are and almost always have been in the wings for whenever Henry and I need them.”

“Oh,” Anastasia said lightly when Grace was finished, looking clearly intimidated. “Well, is that all?”

“Milah and Kathryn and their husbands are kind of like my aunts and uncles,” she volunteered with a grin, teasing but telling the truth all at the same time.

“You really don’t need me, do you?” Anastasia said flatly – it really wasn’t a question – suddenly looking thoroughly downcast.

Grace inquired faintly, all jesting aside, “Do you need me?”

Anastasia opened her mouth then closed it again, not knowing how to respond, before she replied carefully while studying her hands, “I would understand completely if you didn’t want me around – I’ve faced that before, and I would honor that wish if you asked me to stay away – but it would hurt terribly, because, like I said yesterday, you are my _daughter_ and I would love to be a part of your life.”

“I would like to let you in,” Grace whispered, an admittance to herself as much as to… her mother.

Anastasia cocked her head to the side, eyes bright as she studied Grace before she asked knowingly, “But you don’t do that very easily, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” Not as Grace, not anymore. “This is a conscious decision for me, and one that’s probably going to be difficult sometimes, but I want to try.”

“Me too,” Anastasia replied, her voice cracking.

When she moved to hug her daughter, Grace let her, and even went so far as to hug her in return. She took a step back when Anastasia reluctantly released her, and Grace said, “I really should leave, and you two should too. I don’t want to have to call Emma on you for breaking and entering.”

“Really now?” scoffed the all-but-forgotten Will. “Isn’t that what you did to get in here – break in?”

“I didn’t break into anything; I have a key!”

“You should probably run that logic by Granny,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Better yet, don’t – no telling what she’ll do to you.”

Grace rolled her own eyes and pointed in the direction of the door, commanding firmly, “Everybody out.”

“Cranky,” Will accused as he and Anastasia finally started towards the door in front of Grace.

“No,” she corrected him patiently. “I just happen to like this job.”

“So you did break in!”

“No, but you did, and I’m not calling the cops, am I? And you know from past experience that’s what Belle would do.”

“And I suppose we should be groveling at your feet with gratitude?”

“Will!” Anastasia snapped.

“No,” Grace answered him casually, thinking of Hook’s phrase from the day before. “Don’t mention it.” _Really_ , she thought, looking around nervously as they stepped out of the library and she relocked the door. _Don’t mention that I was here_. One glance at Will showed that he, thief that he was, could tell exactly what she was thinking, and she couldn’t wait to get away from the knowing smirk he wore. She tucked her keys into the pocket of her jeans and turned to part ways with Will and Anastasia – only for Henry to plow into her.

Henry fell into her, she landed against Will, and Will slammed backwards into the wall of the library, the wind gusting from his lungs. Henry righted himself quickly, stumbling back a couple of steps as Grace glanced over him. Wild eyes, frantic breathing, even still in his pajamas underneath a hoodie. Something was obviously wrong!

 “Aunt Zelena!” he gasped raggedly, no preamble necessary. “Dr. Whale and the Blue Fairy are rallying people in front of the convent. They’re gonna go after her!”

Grace threw the keys to the library over her shoulder at him, already racing towards the convent as she ordered him to go inside and catch his breath. Two seconds later, he was running predictably at her side and tossing her keys back to her as they went. Another second later, Will and Anastasia were moving on Grace’s other side.

When they reached the convent, Dr. Whale and David were arguing, as was Emma with Blue, while Regina and Snow White stood in front of them and addressed the frenzied crowd. Grace and Henry started to weave forward through the crowd, but hands reached forward and held them both firmly in place. Will had Henry by the elbows and Anastasia had an arm around Grace’s shoulders, pulling her close.

When Henry tried to kick Will, the thief snapped, “Look at them; you’ll be trampled! Let your mum handle it.”

“That’s my aunt they want to kill!”

“And my stepmom!”

“And Regina’s sister,” he replied calmly. “Now stay still or go sit at Granny’s. Your family’s going to kill us if you get hurt.”

“Oh, heck no!” Henry cried indignantly at the all-too-familiar suggestion, finally managing to wrench away from Will’s hold.

But as soon as he was free, he was still again – eerily frozen with a glittering mist surrounding him. Someone was using magic to keep him where they wanted him… and Anastasia’s free hand was poised very tellingly.

“No!” Grace screamed her voice loud in the crowd that was just beginning to thin.

Apparently they’d won this battle where Zelena was concerned, but Grace had stumbled upon a new issue where _Anastasia_ was concerned.

“He’s not being hurt,” Anastasia promised, tightening her grip on Grace in a way that was supposed – and failing – to be comforting.

“Let go of us!” Grace screamed at her, wildly considering just biting the Red Queen and making a run for it. But she couldn’t – not without Henry! She certainly couldn’t break the spell so that he could run with her… so they just had to wait until the Red Queen let them go.


	13. Chapter 13

 

And only once the crowd had entirely dispersed – peacefully, thank goodness – did she see fit to let them go. Grace stumbled immediately from her grasp, blinded by tears that had long been falling silently. She was frustrated, hurt, and angry because of the woman, and scared for what her magic-wielding could mean.  Then Henry’s hands were on her shoulders, touching her in the same spots the Red Queen had before he pulled her into an embrace, tender where Anastasia’s had been restraining.

“She didn’t hurt me,” he promised. “Everything is okay now. I’m okay.” He studied her face as she wiped at her tears, asking gently, “Are you?”

“She wasn’t supposed to be like that,” Grace croaked, knowing that she probably wasn’t making any sense. “Why does she have to be like that?”

But Henry understood what she meant anyway, daring to smile a little as he suggested lightly, attempting to make a joke, “Because she’s a part of your life?”

That was so close to the truth that it was ridiculous – and it certainly _wasn’t_ funny. It made her want to bury her face in Henry’s neck and scream – so she did. He rubbed her back, trying as well as he knew how in that moment to soothe her. And it almost worked.

Then Anastasia said hesitantly, laying a timid hand on her shoulder, “Grace?”

She wanted to scream at the woman, swear at her, order her away forever, run away again… but she didn’t. She made herself stay.

_“Those two types of being left behind can hurt a lot the same way.”_

_“This is a conscious decision for me.”_

She’d made a promise of sorts to herself, and in a way even to Anastasia. Her word meant something to her, didn’t it? For her own sake, it had to be… so she stayed.

 She stayed leaning against her true love, burning eyes closed and holding his hand as she asked, “What?”

“I’m sorry I frightened you and that I didn’t tell you I know magic. I guess I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“Almost any way would’ve been better than what you did.”

“I know, and I am sorry. I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt, though, and I instinctively used the tool I knew I had at hand.”

Grace sighed, letting her anger go with the breath as she met Anastasia’s gaze, answering honestly, “I know that.”

“Do you hate me?” Anastasia asked timidly.

It was a _huge_ , rather all-encompassing question, and Anastasia realized that too late. Grace saw her steel herself for the hurtful answer, but she couldn’t bring herself to say “yes.”

So she looked her mother in the eye and said, “No.”

But she didn’t know whether or not that was the truth.

Still, Anastasia all but melted with relief, smiling radiantly at her. Grace was grateful when people approached before anything more could be said – the Charmings, Emma, and apparently even Baelfire had come with his wife as well.

“Where did Mom go?” Henry asked, noting Regina’s absence.

Snow replied, “She went straight to Jefferson’s to check on Zelena.

“How about the rest of us go somewhere to regroup and calm down?” Baelfire suggested.

“I need coffee after how this morning started,” Emma agreed. “Golden Blends, anybody?”

“Will they even be open?” David asked.

“They will be if I text Mama a ‘pretty please’,” Baelfire said with an ornery smirk.

“You are so spoiled,” Emma muttered with a fond roll of her eyes.

Baelfire grinned unrepentantly as he pulled out his phone. “I know.”

They were joking around! Teasing one another, and it seemed horribly unfair to Grace, considering the revelation she’d just seen with her own eyes! Though she knew they were merely relieved at avoiding trouble – at least for today – she couldn’t share in that feeling, thanks to Anastasia’s magic usage.

Someone moved to stand behind her and Henry then – Baelfire calling out, “Mama said she’ll meet us at Golden Blends if we want to head over there now.” He asked Will and Anastasia, “Are you coming?”

The two looked at one another before Will answered for them both, “We’ve got to pick something up from my apartment, and then we’ll drive over.”

“Alright,” Baelfire turned to Emma, saying, “Speaking of driving – is it alright if me and the kids take the Bug? We want to get something sorted out.”

Apparently, wherever Baelfire had been, he’d seen Anastasia’s little display… and Grace was grateful. She would love the chance to talk this mess out with two of her favorite people.

“Sure,” Emma shrugged and gave him a quick kiss before climbing into her father’s truck with her parents.

So Henry got in the back of the Bug and Grace slid into the shotgun seat while Baelfire started the car and drove onto the street.

“You saw what Anastasia did?” she asked gravely.

“I did,” Baelfire replied evenly. “And here’s the thing: I know you talked to Hook, I know what he told you, I’m about ninety percent certain you spent the night in the library – probably researching Anastasia – and I know that you’re not usually this freaked out by magic. As a matter of fact, I’m going to guess that you’re overwhelmed, not scared, and that a good night’s sleep will work wonders on this situation – lord, I sound like somebody’s mother. But how much do I have right so far?”

“How did you know I was at the library all night?”

“That is where I found you,” Henry pointed out from the back seat.

“And that’s the last place anyone saw you. Plus you’re wearing the exact same clothes you were yesterday. Now, about the rest of what I said-“

“How did you know I talked to Hook?”

“I saw you run towards the wharf, where I figured he’d already returned to from Golden Blends, so I called his cell phone and asked him to hunt you down.”

“ _You_ did that?”

“I happen to know that he understands both sides of the equation.”

“So he said.”

“Good. _Now_ , my real point: Anastasia’s magic. Why are you so upset over it?”


	14. Chapter 14

Within Baelfire’s reasoning, she’d been given the perfect answer, so she ran with it. “I’m tired and overwhelmed; I just freaked out.”

“Well, in that case, you should take a cat nap on the way to the coffee shop; Anastasia’s going to want to explain herself to you once we get there, and I’d hate for you to freak out at her again.’

“I’ll be okay,” Grace told him firmly.

Baelfire glanced away from the road to shoot her a look loaded with meaning – with promise and belief in her – as he said just as firmly, “I know you will.”

Grace smiled gratefully at him and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. It was funny how easily some of the people in her life could calm her so quickly, and Henry and Baelfire were both high up on her list. She felt remarkably calm by the time she got out of the car in front of Golden Blends, even though she knew Anastasia would be there in a matter of minutes.

When Will and Anastasia entered the coffee shop a half an hour later, Henry, Grace, Milah, and now Kathryn were the only ones in the diner and paying her any mind. But most of them were watching her with laser eyes, making her clearly uncomfortable. Grace, however, had decided to put her best foot forward, so she smiled at her mother and moved from the barstool where she’d been by Henry to a table across the room, juggling three drinks. Anastasia and Will sat down across from her and Grace slid two drinks across the table – black coffee for Will and peppermint tea – Milah’s suggestion – for her mother.

In exchange, Anastasia handed her a leather-bound book. _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ , this one proclaiming itself to have been written by Alice Liddle instead of Lewis Carroll.

“Thanks,” Grace murmured.

She took a sip of her key lime smoothie, and Anastasia took advantage of the break in conversation to say nervously, “I wanted to explain-“

“You don’t have to,” Grace interrupted. “You were right to do what you did back at the convent, honestly, and where anything else is concerned, I’d rather read this book before we discuss it.” They looked at her in confusion, and she explained with a timid smile, “When I can, I like to get a feel for people and situations before I jump into them.”

“That’s understandable,” Anastasia nodded. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“Which reminds me, Ana,” Will declared. “We do need to buy you a cell phone and some Storybrooke-appropriate clothes soon.”

“I’ve been borrowing from Ella’s things,” Anastasia confided in her daughter.

“You, ah, I could take you shopping,” Grace offered before she could let herself think about it.

Anastasia beamed. “I would love that!” Then her face fell as she realized, “But it would have to be today. I start work at the diner tomorrow.”

“Hey,” Grace said lightly, making the decision even as she spoke. “I have a clear calendar today.”

“Wonderful!”

“Although,” she thought at the last second. “I might suggest bringing along another friend of mine.”

“Which one is that?”

“One of two, ah, fashionistas in town, although Ruby is running the diner, so I guess it would just be Belle – or Lacey. Yeah, I’m betting Lacey would start popping out in the middle of a shopping trip.”

“I’m… confused.”

“I can explain the curse to you once you get back from your shopping,” Will volunteered. “Right now, why don’t you and the kid call Belle and see if she’s available, and then go have fun.” He fished his wallet out of his back pocket and held up a debit card from inside, asking Ana, “Do you know what this is?”

She shook her head and Will sighed, glancing at Grace with so much desperation in his eyes that Grace found herself laughing. She reached across the table and brazenly snatched the plastic from his hand, promising gaily, “We’ll take good care of it.”

“Why do I get the feeling that your version of ‘good care’ is different than mine?” he asked her drily.

“Because Paige can be as much a fashionista as Lacey when she wants to and we have an entire wardrobe to craft!”

“You’re getting excited, aren’t you?” Will asked Grace, his tone and expression one that she couldn’t interpret. She grinned, realizing he was right as she nodded. He glanced between Grace and Anastasia then smiled _almost_ indulgently back at the teen, saying, “Then go have fun, get to know each other, but for the love of everything holy, make sure I have enough for food for the rest of the week.”

“Thanks, Will!” Grace said cheerfully, shooting up from her chair as Anastasia stood as well.

Anastasia gave Will a parting kiss and Grace gave Henry the same thing, not letting him comment before she darted back over to Will and gave him a kiss on the cheek, just to see how he’d react – very amusingly, considering that he obviously had no real idea what to do with her. He didn’t appear to be upset about her existence as Anastasia’s daughter at least, and he was trying – she thought – to make friends with her, in his own way, which was a definite plus. Once she was on solid ground with Anastasia, she was going to have to start putting in some effort with Will too. If she could handle having the Wicked Witch of the West as a stepmother, then she could probably handle the Knave of Hearts becoming some sort of stepfather.

But Anastasia came first.

The queen of Wonderland giggled along with Grace at the look on Will’s face as they headed out the door. Once outside, Anastasia inquired, “Where are we going?”

“Brilliant question,” Grace said slowly, realizing how spur of the moment this whole thing was – yet she was somehow in a good enough mood that the thought left her still excited.

“Maybe you should call Belle now and ask her to suggest somewhere for us to meet her?”


	15. Chapter 15

Belle… Belle who would be busy with the library or Arabella right now, but who would feel that she needed to drop everything and play bodyguard for the teenager she’d taken in as her own daughter, like so many others had, the moment she called. Grace gave Anastasia a blink-and-you’d-miss-it onceover before she made a decision. She didn’t need a bodyguard around her own mother.

“Nah,” Grace said cheerfully. “Let’s wing it –  just you and me. We can start over at the department store across from the diner. A mother-daughter day; would that be okay?”

“That would be perfect,” Anastasia murmured, tears springing into her eyes.

Grace took her hand, smiled gently, and tugged her forward, saying, “Then let’s get started.”

* * *

It was long past dark by the time Grace stumbled into Granny’s, alone for the first time since dawn, but with laughter still on her lips made all the better by the fact that Henry had asked her to meet him and her parents for supper. But for some reason the people she saw waiting for her looked none too happy.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, her smile slipping a little as she slid into a booth beside Henry.

Her true love simply dug something out of his ever-present backpack and set it in front of her – the book Will and Anastasia had given her earlier in the day. “You left so quickly earlier that you left this behind; I told Will I’d give it to you. I… read it.”

“Is something wrong with it?” Grace asked, feeling a niggle of worry fight for space in her mind. No! Not after the ultimately good day she’d had!

“I called Will,” Jefferson broke in. “He said it was all accurate… regrettably.”

“Why?” Grace asked slowly, her voice now filled with trepidation.

Henry sighed, flipping to a page in the book, then a second and third one as she skimmed the words on them. “Anastasia’s… ah, had a rough past.”

“That’s…” Grace trailed off.

She wanted to say that wasn’t possible, but she knew that it was. Her daybreak conversation with Will and Anastasia had practically told her as much. She knew her mother had a sketchy past that she regretted, but this book painted her as another full-on Evil Queen! Didn’t it?

“She said that she did all that for Will,” she finally managed to get out. “Was that the truth?”

“Yeah,” Henry nodded. “She didn’t lie to you about anything, but you did say that you wanted to learn about her and Will from this book.”

“My mother is an Evil Queen,” she said faintly.

“It seems to me that she loves you very much,” Henry replied carefully, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Is this going to be the converse of me convincing you to talk to Zelena?” she asked warily.

“No…” Henry said slowly. “This is me returning a favor.”

“What favor?” she snorted.

“You moving back in with Jefferson was honestly a part of why I gave Mom a chance… even if she was an Evil Queen. And quite frankly, you’ve made me stick around long enough to see good in people where I would otherwise assume there is none and walk away. You aren’t the type of person to do that here, even if I have to remind you that you’re not. There’s something worthwhile in Anastasia, I’d bet, and I want you to do _yourself_ the favor of sticking around to find it.”

“Even if the _only_ good thing is what we already know: that she loves me… and Will?”

“Having people you love to prod you in the right direction can be miraculously helpful to a recovering villain, though;” Zelena said. “I know you’ve figured that much out over the years, even before I came along.”

“Yeah,” Grace admitted grudgingly.

“Can I… point something out?” Henry asked almost warily. “When I came to you the evening that I found Aunt Zelena in my house, do you remember what you said?” When she shrugged, he continued, “You said ‘why not.’ You asked me ‘what makes her so much worse than the others? So much more unredeemable than Rumplestiltskin, or the Evil Queen?’ And I didn’t have an answer for you; I diverted you from the question because I didn’t know how to answer it… but now it’s your turn. Even with what Anastasia did however long ago in Wonderland, what makes your mother so much more unredeemable then my mother?”

Grace groaned, snuggling into him even as she declared, “I hate you.”

“Why?”

“For being right,” she groused.

“They’re not my words, honey; they’re yours. That should make you feel better, shouldn’t it?”

“No!”

“Sorry. Then at least it’s food for thought…”

“Yeah,” she snorted.

She had more than enough to think about at the moment, thanks! But once again her swirling thoughts came back to the promise she’d made herself – to give Anastasia a chance. And acting on that promise was something that she had genuinely enjoyed spending the day doing.

She took a deep breath and flipped through the pages in front of her again, forcing herself to look at this situation logically. She trusted her judgment… most of the time, and she _knew_ how to read people. Anastasia hadn’t set off any internal red flags today. Yes, she had been a villain at some point, but – much like Grace’s now-loved near-stepmother – she was now on a better path.

Grace wouldn’t be right – in fact, she’d be somewhat hypocritical – if she let her mother’s past destroy what might just be growing between them in the present.

“You okay?” Henry asked, squeezing her shoulders.

She nodded, eyeing him as she stated, “You’re nervous for me.”

“Ah… What?”

“I know you are,” she looked at Jefferson and Zelena. “And so are you, for that matter. I remember knowing that Henry was going home to the Evil Queen, and I didn’t show it because that was his _mother,_ but I was scared to death for him.”

 


	16. Chapter 16

“I never knew that,” Henry murmured.

“I know you didn’t; you needed a rock, a… ray of sunshine, an advocate of hope. So that’s what I gave you. And it worked. I’m telling you this now because I’m kind of where you were at. Anastasia is my mother, but she was the Red Queen, and even though I do want to have that mother-daughter relationship with her, the Red Queen makes me nervous. So I’m going to need you to be _my_ advocate for hope sometimes.”

“Seems like the least I could do,” Henry agreed. He smiled. “For you, I will give my all, milady.”

“Don’t you always?” she kissed him on the cheek and chuckled when her papa rolled his eyes across the table. “I love you, also, Papa,” she told him teasingly.

“And I you.”

The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard, but she instantly understood it. Just like she hadn’t known exactly where she stood with him when Zelena first came into their home, he didn’t know where he stood with Anastasia in the equation. She smiled at him, trying to reassure him in some small way as she realized that this was another conversation that she’d need to have with someone.

But that would be okay. She knew how to manage Papa. They weren’t horribly alike – he was still nearly a hermit and she was always going this or that around town with those in her little group… her adopted family – but they’d started her life as each other’s world, and loving him would never be a chore for her. It was merely a fact of her life now.

And hopefully she would soon be able to say the same thing of her relationship with her mother. It would just be a natural fact of her life, having Anastasia’s love and presence in her life and giving it in return.

But then, she thought again, she had numerous people in her life like that. They would be there for her, and her for them, if at all possible when they were in need.

Once again, the thought brought a smile to her face.

* * *

“I love normal!” Grace declared, waltzing into the pawnshop ahead of Belle.

“I thought normal was boring,” Belle commented, setting the picnic basket on the counter as Henry and Rumplestiltskin came from the back.

“I like _routines_ ,” Grace amended.

“May I do a small thing out of the ordinary?” Rumplestiltskin inquired with a secretive smile, and when Grace raised her eyebrows he brought a hand out from behind his back and gave a red rose to his wife.

Belle grinned and kissed him as she accepted the flower before asking, “Magical rose?”

“No,” he smiled sheepishly. “Your father’s running a sale. Two,” he turned and bowed to Grace suddenly, bringing out a purple rose from behind his back and presenting it to her with a flourish. “For the price of one.” He grinned impishly, saying softly to Grace, “If you’ll have it.”

Grace knew where that line came from, and part of her wanted to hit him with the rose for his antics as she accepted it, but the color of the flower stopped her. In the language of flowers purple roses could mean parental love… and that was exactly what Rumplestiltskin was giving her. _If you’ll have it…_ Because he knew how difficult a time she’d had in the past days…

She smiled, took the rose, and curtsied playfully, saying, “Why thank you.”

And she meant every last syllable. His simple gift had cemented the truth of the thought that had been jittering around in her mind since her conversation with Will and Anastasia in the library – that she had been adopted into this crazy family of Henry’s. She was less close to Rumplestiltskin then she was a number of the others, yet even he had cared enough to try and do something to cheer her up! How had she gotten so lucky!

“Hey,” Henry tapped her on the shoulder, drawing her out of her reverie to meet his curious eyes.  “You okay?”

She grinned, pecking him on the lips before she replied, “Perfect.”

* * *

Grace had been thinking all afternoon, and after work, she became a girl on a mission. She wanted to go to Game of Thorns before it closed, but she still had plenty of time to sort out one more thing before she did so. She went to Granny’s and sat down in the back, hoping to stay unnoticed so that she could think this through.

Henry had made a list like this years ago, but now she actually had enough people in her life that it might be beneficial to her too. Putting things in orderly boxes might help her settle her mind a little. Getting out a piece of paper and a pen, she set to work, carefully considering each name before she put it on her list.

Jefferson. Zelena. Belle. Bae. Anastasia. Ruby. Archie. Rumplestiltskin. Emma. Will. Daniel. Regina.

Then a second column that she labeled “Aunts and Uncles.” There she wrote out more names. Ashley and Sean. Hook and Milah. Snow and Charming. Kathryn and Frederick. Even the dwarves.

Then she went back to her first list. Jefferson was her “Papa,” always and forever. And when she was younger she’d referenced Anastasia as “Mama,” so that would stay.

She bit her lip, starting to over think this. What if she was wrong about this little family that she thought she had? What if they didn’t want to be considered like this?

“Hi!” Grace started sharply, dropping her pencil as she looked up to see Regina standing by her table. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you,” the mayor apologized, stooping to pick up Grace’s pen and hand it to her. Noting her expression, she asked, “Are you okay? You looked pretty lost in your thoughts.”

“Ah, yeah, I’m good.”

Grace moved to crumple her paper in her hand, but it was too late. Regina had caught sight of it, and put her fingertips on the piece of paper to stop her before Grace could forget the idea entirely.


	17. Chapter 17

Regina slid into the seat across from Grace and tugged at the list with a coaxing smile. Grace dropped her forehead onto the table in embarrassment as the mayor got her way.

Scanning the half-completed list, Regina guessed, “Picking out titles for parents?”

“I was going to,” Grace muttered. “But I’m over thinking it. Calling them my parents when they aren’t would freak them out.”

“You think so?” Regina asked, the gentle look in her eyes telling Grace that she thought she was wrong. So Grace merely nodded. “I think,” Regina looked over the list again as she tapped a finger on the tabletop. “That there is exactly one person on this list who _might_ ‘freak out’ at the idea of being a father, and Will can’t really complain, since he _is_ technically your stepfather.”

“He’s actually handled my existence pretty well, so that I know,” Grace remarked.

“Belle’s going to cry, just so you know.”

“Why?” Grace asked in alarm.

“I was there the first time Bae called her ‘Mom’, and she did then. And she regards you and Bae as being on the same plane in her heart.” Regina placed the list between them on the table, remarking, “Maybe you should call Belle ‘Mom’?”

“You think I should finish the list?” Grace asked with upraised eyebrows.

Regina folded her hands on the table as she said,  “Take this from an adoptive mother; the people in that column regard you as one of their own with or without the title, but if the title would help you, then go for it.”

“You’re on that list,” Grace pointed out.

“I noticed,” Regina smiled. “You are my son’s true love, so it only seems appropriate that we learn to like each other. At best you’re well on your way to becoming my daughter-in-law, so unless you want one of those ‘monster-in-laws’…”

“No!” Grace yelped, and both she and Regina grinned.

“Well, in that case, we have nine more versions of ‘mom and dad’ to come up with. So who’s ‘Dad’?”

Grace regarded the list. “Well, it’s a more modern title… for a more modern man like Bae.”

She wrote the title beside Bae’s name as Regina began to list off other versions. “Daddy, Mommy, Da, Mum, Father, Mother, Ma, Pop...”

“Mommy and Daddy?” Grace repeated skeptically. “Don’t you think I’m a little old for that?”

Regina made a face. “Probably. Henry _always_ thought he was. He’s always acted a lot older than his actual age in some ways, and that was one of them. I’ve always been ‘Mom’ to him. It kind of makes me sad in a way, actually; every parent dreams of having that little toddler running up to them screaming that ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy is home’ and I never got that.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at Regina before deciding “case made” as she scrawled “Mommy” and “Daddy” beside Regina and Daniel’s names. She grinned at Regina, inquiring teasingly, “Better?”

“Much better!” Regina chuckled.

Grace looked back to the paper, muttering, “’Father’ seems like maybe it would fit…  Archie – doctor in a suit, you know.”

So she put “Father” and “Mother” down beside Archie and Ruby as Regina commented, “Some of them are going to be mismatched if Belle and Bae are ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad.’”

“Well, ‘Da’ seems like it would fit someone with Will’s accent, right?”

“Sure.”

“And ‘Mum’ works with Zelena’s British accent. Yes, it’s thin reasoning, but at the end of the day, all I need is just different titles for each to get my point across…”

“Right.”

“So that would make…” Grace looked back at the list. “Emma ‘Ma,’ and Rumplestiltskin ‘Pop.’”

Regina grinned again. “Sounds good to me.”

“Me too,” Grace nodded firmly, folding the list up and tucking it into her pocket. “Thanks for your help, Regina. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a dozen flowers to buy before Game of Thorns closes.”

“No problem; glad I could help.”

Grace stood up and waved over her shoulder as she walked towards the door, grinning teasingly as she said, “Bye, Mommy!”

She ignored the questioning look Ruby gave her as she walked out the door, smiling at the werewolf as she left and headed to Game of Thorns. The sugary sweet smell of flowers overwhelmed Grace as she walked into the cool flower shop and smiled uncertainly at Mo French.  She _really_ hated having to be around strangers… but she wanted to do this.

“What can I do for you?” Mo asked her. “I’ve got a sale going today.”

“Ah… a dozen yellow flowers?”

“What kind of flowers? Do you know?”

She shook her head.  She should have thought this out more before coming in here!

“Who are they for, then? Maybe that’ll help you decide.”

“My… parents.”

“How sweet of you!”

 “Um… yeah. Roses are pretty… general, aren’t they?”

Mo nodded. “Is that what you want? A dozen yellow roses?”

Grace nodded, resisting the urge to shift on her feet. She had just finished having a laugh with the Evil Queen and yet this man was making her nervous?! _Get a grip, Grace!_

“Alright.” Mo smiled, trying to put her at ease as he came from behind the counter and headed towards a case of roses, counting out a dozen yellow ones.

But she wasn’t at ease with this man and she didn’t like him. She didn’t even _want_ to like him. He wasn’t villainous, she thought, but he was… oblivious in a way, nearly like a spoiled child. He didn’t understand people – that much was clear by how he had arranged for a marriage between Belle and Gaston.

“Here you go,” Mo handed her the bouquet with yet another smile and named his price.

She dropped the money into his palm, grabbed the bouquet and all but fled the flower shop. It was only once she was a block away that Grace realized she hadn’t even remembered to ask him to wrap the roses separately. Oh well, she could separate them herself. _That much_ she could do without nearly falling to pieces.

She kicked at a nearby street lamp, angry with herself for being _so_ shy. She could do better. She _would_ do better – and _without_ needing to have someone at her side to manage it. Starting with giving out these roses! It shouldn’t be hard, considering that _these_ people were ones that she truly did consider family.


	18. Chapter 18

_Where to start?_ Grace wondered, staring at the roses she had in her hand. She could take one rose just directly out of the bouquet when the time came, but she had to start somewhere when it came to giving them out. _Rumplestiltskin,_ she realized. After the purple rose he’d given her this afternoon, he would absolutely understand where she was coming from and what she was trying to say.

So she headed straight for the pawnshop first.

“Rumplestiltskin?” she called quietly, opening the pawnshop door only far enough to stick her head in.

He was standing behind the counter, scratching something on a notepad by his cash register. He looked up with a curious “hello, again” when she opened the shop door. “What can I do for you?”

She winced at the same question that Mo had just asked her as she stepped into the shop. “I… It’s something I wanted to do for you.” She shrugged at his surprised expression and showed him the bouquet of yellow roses, plucking one out and holding it out to him.

He took it with a gentle smile, asking softly, “Do you know the ‘language of flowers’?”

“Purple roses are for paternal love and yellow flowers can stand for filial love.”

“Well… thank you, Grace.”

They were both embarrassed now, she knew, but he got it. He understood what she was trying to get across… and she was about to make it worse… or maybe better? She dug the list she’d made with Regina out of her pocket and laid it on the counter between her and Rumplestiltskin, pointing to the line that included his name.

He raised his eyebrows again, looking at it as he read the single word: “Pop.” Once again Rumplestiltskin understood what she wanted and said simply, “I would be honored.”

Both of them smiled and Grace propelled herself around the counter, instinctually hugging him.

He patted her on the back in return, asking, “Are you alright?”

Grace nodded as she released him, answering, “I’m good. I just have more errands to run.” She gestured to the bouquet on the counter, and Rumplestiltskin nodded, effectively dismissing her as she scooped up the flowers and list. She smiled again, saying, “I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow… Pop.”

He smiled – a rare _real_ , full-on _smile_ – and replied, “See you then.”

And she was off. Belle at the library. Archie at his office. Daniel at the stable. Regina at City Hall. Emma at the sheriff’s station. Bae, Zelena, Jefferson. By the time she made it back to Granny’s Diner, it was getting late.

And maybe that could be a good thing… if she could talk the right people into it. Some of them would probably be easy, she mused, but others… Well, she still had something else to do first, at least.

“Well, hey, Grace,” Ruby said, meeting her as soon as she came over to the counter. “I thought I saw you in here earlier… with Regina?”

“Henry’s mother?”

Grace jumped at the voice behind her – _why did people startle her so easily today?_ – and turned to see Anastasia behind her, wearing a waitress’s uniform. Grace had nearly forgotten that she was starting work here today.

“Yeah,” Ruby answered Anastasia. “Good memory, what with the number of new people you’ve met these past few days.”

“I’ll get them all straightened out eventually,” Anastasia promised.  To Grace she said, “I must’ve been in the washroom when you were here earlier. What brings you here this time?”

Grace held out two of the remaining three yellow roses. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Yellow in flowers can stand for filial love, and the past few days I’ve realized that I really do have a _lot_ of people that I regard as parents,” she glanced between the two women as she added, “Adopted or otherwise. And the thing is… this.” She dug the paper out of her pocket one more time and held it out to Ruby.

Ruby read the list carefully before asking Grace, “How many people have you showed this paper to?”

“Everyone on it but Anastasia and Will.”

“And?”

Grace grinned. “And I have had a _marvelously_ reaffirming day!”

“Then who would ‘Mother’ be to stop that now?” Ruby asked with a smile.

Grace squealed with glee and hauled herself halfway onto the counter to hug Ruby. She remarked off-handedly, “You are such a better hugger than Rumplestiltskin.”

“What?” Ruby snorted, pulling away from Grace to look at her incredulously.

“I said I’d had a good day,” Grace answered. “That doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been a very long evening.”

“It’s, ah,” Ruby tapped the “Anastasia” on Grace’s list. “Not over yet, though, is it?”

Grace bit her lip nervously as she looked into Ruby’s eyes, her grip tightening on the rose that she still held. The werewolf nodded ever so slightly before she said suddenly, “I’m going to go back to the kitchen and work on staples for tomorrow; you two have fun.” She squeezed Grace’s shoulder one more time and disappeared, giving Grace and Anastasia space to talk without an unnecessary presence.

This time no prelude was needed, so Grace simply turned to Anastasia, extended the rose and asked softly, “Would you mind if I called you ‘Mama’?”

“I would love that,” Anastasia rasped out around instantaneous tears.

Well, if Grace was going to go for broke and hug Rumplestiltskin then she was certainly going to hug her own mother! So she did.

“I love you,” Anastasia murmured against her ear.

And for what it was worth – which was quite a lot, Grace realized – upward climb though she knew it would be to become what a real mother and daughter were ideally supposed to be… “I love you too, Mama.”

Anastasia burst into tears at the sincerity in her daughter’s voice, crying twice as much as Belle had by the time she stopped – _and that was worth something, wasn’t it?_ Then she asked curiously, the means to an end, “Have you had dinner yet? Have… you ever spent the night away from home?”

Grace smiled gently at her, suggesting, “Maybe you’re one of my homes.”

She had a solid six of those nowadays, yes, but this one… this one was with her mother – and that made it all the more special.


	19. Chapter 19

 

“Hey, Will,” Anastasia called out gaily as she stepped into her true love’s apartment with Grace behind her. “Guess who I brought home with me!”

Will came around the corner, raising his eyebrows at the sight of Grace. “Well, hello there.” He stepped up to his wife with a smile, kissing her before he asked, “How was the first day on the job?”

“Nice, actually. I didn’t realize I’d sort of missed doing things for myself. Ruby and Ella were wonderful – unexpectedly so, really. Speaking of ‘unexpected.” She held up the rose Grace had given her with a gleeful grin before she looked pointedly down at the one now-wilting flower that Grace still held and then at her daughter.

Grace flushed nervously. Will… Even without what Regina had said earlier, he was the one person on her list that she genuinely didn’t know what she could expect from. Either way… if she could talk Jefferson into letting her spend the night with Anastasia and Will – although she really did suspect that Zelena had something to do with how nice Jefferson was being about all of this now – she could spew her thoughts out to her newly-discovered stepfather. So she gave Will a timid smile and held out the last yellow rose.

* * *

Grace woke up slowly the next morning, stretching out on the couch where she’d slept with a yawn.

“Morning, princess!”

She snorted, pulling her pillow from underneath her head to hide her face in it at the unexpected voice and even more unexpected salutation.

“No, I mean that seriously! Ana _is_ still technically the queen of Wonderland; she’s just got people running the place for her since she moved here.”

Grace sat up, glaring with bleary eyes at Will from across the open floor plan. Will looked at her from his spot in front of the stove; he snorted and his own eyes widened at the sight of her. “Either you’re having an off morning or you’re as much a morning person as Ana.”

“Don’t let the Einstein hair deceive you; I’m awake.” She scrubbed her eyes, jesting, “Beauty like mine doesn’t just happen automatically, though.”

“That’s what Ana tells me.”

Grace watched his back as he turned to the pancakes on the stove, commenting, “I guess Mama’s not a morning person?”

 “ _No_. I try not to wake her up unless I want to be considered her villain of the day.”

Grace squinted in the direction of the clock on the stove before she asked, “Doesn’t she have to leave for  the diner in an hour?”

“I guess one of us is going to have to be a villain today.”

Grace grinned. “Your house, your wife, your wife, your privilege.”

“Your mother, your visit, your ‘privilege’,” he shot back rapidly.

Grace could hear the ease in his voice and her smile widened as she wheedled teasingly, “You wouldn’t want your stepdaughter to go out like that, would you?”

She watched his back carefully for sudden tension at the word “stepdaughter” yet found none even as he said evenly, “You act like I’m actually decent parent material.”

“Accepting you as a father figure can’t be any worse than doing the same with Rumplestiltskin,” Grace pointed out, stumbling onto her feet.

Will looked at her over his shoulder, a smile on his face. Even though he didn’t say anything else, it still felt like something important had come to pass – a statement, a feeling of… friendship, camaraderie. The early-morning banter with Will had left her with the same feeling she’d had after making cookies with Zelena, Grace realized as she took a couple of steps toward Will and Ana’s bedroom.

“If you don’t like sour things,” Will asked. “Does that mean you like sugar – such as chocolate chips in your pancakes?”

“Are you kidding?” Grace grinned. “Chocolate belongs on every possible food!”

“I thought you were that sort of girl.”

He moved to the pantry and she to her mother’s bedside, grinning all the while… because this felt like yet another home in the making.

Grace laid a hand timidly on her mother’s arm, murmuring, “Mama?” The moment she spoke, Anastasia’s moth tipped up in a smile. “You’re already awake!”

“I am,” Ana replied, cracking open one eye as her smile widened.

“Then why didn’t you get up?”

“The walls are thin; I heard you and Will chatting, so I listened in instead. He’s not half bad, is he? Not a real wicked stepparent.”

Grace grinned. “Zelena’s my ‘wicked’ stepparent, don’t worry… and, no, I don’t think Will’s too horrible. Probably juvenile, I get the feeling, but kind of cute – like the playful puppy you want to take home even though you know he’s going to destroy your house.”

Ana burst out laughing before she asked, “And how would you describe your Henry?”

“Henry?” Grace cocked her head to the side, considering before she answered with a thoughtful frown, “I don’t know, really. He’s just Henry; I don’t necessarily notice his body or the color of his eyes so much anymore. It’s more… how gentle he can be, how his eyes sparkle when he’s happy, things like that. Most of the time, I see who he is instead of what he looks like.” She blushed lightly, asking, “Does that make sense?”

Suddenly Will stepped up behind Grace, commenting, “That sounds like love to me.”

“It does indeed,” Ana grinned over Grace’s shoulder at him and he leaned around Grace to kiss his wife.

Grace squawked in protest as she stepped far out of their way. Ana and Will smiled unrepentantly at her as he said, “Pancakes are on the breakfast bar – plain for her majesty and chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream for the princess and I.”

“Will Scarlet!” Ana protested. “Do you _want_ to give yourself a sugar high?”

“I want my _darling_ wife to get out of bed so that she’s not late to work.”

 “Good point,” Ana remarked, untangling herself from her blankets as she got out of bed. As the three of them walked into the kitchen, she asked Grace, “Do you have a plan for the morning, since Will and I are going to be at work?”

“I’ve got a half hour longer than Ana before I have to go in,” Will offered. “We could hang out here if you want.”


	20. Chapter 20

 “Um,” Grace looked over at him, double-checking the sincerity of his invitation before she replied, “Sure.” It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Will, or the fact that he was making an effort to get to know her – because he was, and she appreciated it – but she didn’t want to push the issue or make him uncomfortable. He seemed relaxed enough, though, and she _was_ on his turf, so, yeah, she could spare half an hour before meeting up with her papa. “But Papa wants me to meet him at Pop’s pawn shop in the next couple of hours.”

“Not a problem,” Will promised evenly.

Grace eyed Ana as she sat down at the bar, checking to see if she was upset at the mention of Jefferson. Ana caught her stare, pulling a teasing face before she said, “No, it isn’t. Jefferson and I have had chances to talk that you didn’t know about, and we’ve decided to… be grownups and get along for your sake.”

Grace grinned, then turned to Will as a thought struck her. “What about you?”

“What about me?” he repeated. “Jefferson’s basically still a hermit, and certainly no… threat. I am capable of being an actual ‘grownup’ when I want to be.”

“The fact that you put actual air quotes around ‘grownup’ make me question that,” Grace deadpanned.

Will smirked and flicked a chocolate chip at her in protest, but when she caught it in her mouth he laughed and clapped for her.

Ana rolled her eyes even as she attempted to bite back her smile, muttering, “I am surrounded by children.”

“That’s what I said!” Grace replied cheerfully, surprised again at how relaxed she felt here.

She’d never gotten so comfortable around strangers so quickly… but then… these people weren’t meant to be strangers to her. Scarred as she knew they were, childish as Will was acting, these two were her family, and not just by choice like so many others in her life. Ana _was_ her _mother_ , and Will _was_ her… _stepfather_. _Huh; I have one of those now._ Funny how quickly she _could_ let people in when she let her guard down.

“What are you grinning about?” Ana asked her curiously.

“Ah…” she smiled. “Coming home one more time.”

Ana smiled right back at her and pulled her into a hug.

“Aw, come on now, Ana, what about me?!” Will protested teasingly, looking at his wife… and not paying attention to Grace.

So Grace arched an eyebrow and decided to do something daring. She released Ana and whipped around to squeeze Will tightly around the waist before he could get a clue. He went rigid with surprise for a long few seconds before his hands slipped to her back as he patted her awkwardly between the shoulder blades. Two seconds more and he wrapped his arms more firmly around her shoulders, giving her a real hug. Ana smiled as she wrapped her arms around both Will and Grace from behind her daughter. For the second time that morning, Grace was caught in the middle… and this time it was kind of nice.

* * *

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Jefferson said gravely as Grace met him outside Gold’s Pawnshop.

“Okay…” Grace murmured curiously, slinging her overnight bag over her shoulder.

“Zelena.”

“Is she okay?” Grace asked urgently, realizing how since Anastasia had shown up she’d barely thought of Zelena and the trouble she might well be encountering.

“Yeah, oh yeah!” He raised his eyebrows. “Actually, Regina and Snow must’ve said some pretty convincing things at the convent, because they’ve left her alone since then, and I don’t think we’re going to have any trouble.”

“That’s great!... But why did you want to meet here?”

“Ah, yeah,” Jefferson shuffled his feet, suddenly muttering to himself, “This is probably horrible timing; they’re going to think that I’m just trying to make a statement because of Annie and she’ll say no and-“

“Papa!” Grace caught him before he could go unreachably far into his mumblings. During his long years alone he’d developed a habit of talking to himself, and though he’d gotten better about it, he still did it when he became uncomfortable enough. She grabbed her papa’s hand, starting to decipher what he’d been mumbling about before she asked him quietly, “Are you going to ask Zelena to marry you?”

“Would…” he sent her the puppy dog eyes that put Will’s to shame. “You mind?”

“No!” Grace yelped. “Of course not!” She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I would love that.”

“Would Zelena?” he asked uncertainly, and, good grief, sometimes he made Grace feel like the adult out of the two of them!

She couldn’t help the giggle that burst out of her mouth as she said, “Of course she would, silly! She _is_ your true love. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” she realized suddenly. “You wanted my help to pick out an engagement ring.”

“Do you think Mr. Gold will sell me one?”

She considered the question for a second before deciding, “I think so.” She tugged him towards the shop door, declaring, “There’s only one way to find out.”

Grace was pulling him into the cool interior of the pawnshop before he could object – she realized suddenly where she got her shyness from – and Mr. Gold stared expectantly at them from behind the counter, drawling, “I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to come in.”

She made a face at him as Jefferson said, “I want an engagement ring.”

“For Zelena, I take it?” Mr. Gold asked, not appearing the least bit ruffled by the idea. Jefferson nodded. “Do you have anything in particular in mind?”

“Silver… maybe an emerald in there somewhere?”

“Come now,” Mr. Gold leaned against the counter and eyed Jefferson casually. “You’re a hatter; you deal in fashion and design. You’ve got to have a more concrete idea than that.” He grabbed the notepad from beside the register and slid it towards Jefferson along with a pen.  “Here. Design.”

Jefferson blinked at the page with a thoughtful look in his eye before he began to sketch. After a couple dozen strokes of pencil against paper, he flipped the notebook back towards Rumplestiltskin. The sorcerer stared at the page intently for a moment before ghosting his hand over the counter top. Left behind was a simple ring box of black velvet. Jefferson opened the box and smiled at its contents, nodding his thanks at Mr. Gold as the pawnbroker named his price.


	21. Chapter 21

Grace looked over her papa’s shoulder at the ring and gasped, “She’ll love that!” Four glittering emeralds topped an elaborate diamond-studded silver band. “It’ll suit her, I think.”

“What’ll suit who?”

Grace squeaked and both she and Jefferson whipped around to face the unexpected – and unsuspecting –presence in the shop. _Zelena never comes in here!_ Except she was here now. _How?_ She narrowed her eyes, looking suspiciously over her shoulder at Rumplestiltskin.

He smirked happily, even going so far as to wink conspiratorially at her. She merely shook her head with a roll of her eyes and turned her attention back to Jefferson and Zelena as her papa stepped towards his true love and extended the ring box.

“I was hoping this would suit you.”

Zelena’s eyes widened and whatever else Jefferson had been planning was cut off as she cried out a glad “yes” and threw her arms around his neck before kissing him soundly.

_Good grief, is everyone going to do this much PDA today?_

Apparently so, because the next thing Grace knew, she was enfolded into Zelena’s arms as well, and she could _feel_ the excitement radiating off of her soon-to-be stepmother. She laughed into the redhead’s shoulder and Zelena laughed aloud, giddy as a child as she moved from hugging Grace to throwing her arms around… Rumplestiltskin.

Zelena froze, realizing what she’d done, before she slowly withdrew her arms. Then Rumplestiltskin did something miraculous. He gave her a small smile and patted her on the arm, offering, “Congratulations, dearie.”

Zelena beamed, whispering, “Thanks.”

He nodded and she went back to Jefferson, taking his hand as the two of them walked towards the door of the pawnshop. They stopped two steps from leaving when Zelena asked Jefferson, “What do you think of the idea of having a little get together tonight at Granny’s to celebrate?”

“’Get together’?” he repeated nervously.

“The dirty dozen, the Charmings, the Holts, Hook and Milah, and Henry,” Zelena replied.

“’The dirty dozen’?” Grace repeated in confusion.

Zelena grinned. “Baelfire started it, I heard. That’s what we’ve decided we’re going to call everyone you gave a rose to yesterday.”

“Do you understand that movie reference, Mum?” she asked cautiously.           

“We watched it last night while you were with Will and Annie,” Jefferson supplied before turning back to his fiancée. “I guess if you want to, you’d better get started calling people.”

Zelena kissed him on the cheek, saying, “Thanks!” She turned to Mr. Gold, asking, “Will you and Belle come?”

“I’ll ask her; she’ll probably want to.”

Zelena grinned and disappeared out the door after asking Grace if she wouldn’t mind getting the news to Anastasia and Will.

“I’ll even kill two birds with one stone and tell Ruby at the same time,” Grace promised, leaving beside Zelena and heading in the direction of the diner.

Maybe she should be worried about telling her papa’s first wife that he had just gotten engaged, but she wasn’t. They were going to act like adults and get along, apparently, and dealing with Zelena’s presence was going to have to be a part of that. Somehow she knew that it would be okay… that they all would be.

Hers was a broken, disconnected family with branches that were starting to take twists and turns as confusing as Henry’s family tree, but she didn’t mind – not at all. Somewhere between her desperate shyness and Paige’s extroversion, there was a young woman who wanted nothing more than a secure group of friends, and she’d gotten far more in that area than she’d anticipated. And now that she was determined to love these people – every one of them – the thought made her so happy she nearly skipped her way to the diner.

* * *

Unexpected hands encircled Grace’s waist the moment she stepped into the diner later that night, pulling her close from behind as her favorite voice said, “Hey there, stranger. I haven’t seen you much since Anastasia showed up.”

“You’ve seen me three times _at least_ since Friday and it’s only Tuesday,” Grace refuted, turning in Henry’s arms to lace her hands behind his neck with a smile.

“I missed you anyway,” he declared. “I know you’ve had a lot going on, and I don’t like not knowing how you’re doing.”

“I am doing wonderfully,” she promised him. “Papa and Zelena are engaged, Mama’s here – and not actually a bad person, I might add – Da’s fun, I have been informed that I have the – and I quote – ‘dirty dozen’ of parents…” she smiled lovingly, finishing, “And then there’s you.”

“There’s always me,” Henry promised her, giving her a quick kiss.

“And I love you for it,” she said, kissing him again.

Suddenly Henry yelped and jerked back, a hand flying to the back of his head as he turned to see Will walking innocently away behind them. Grace tried and failed to hold back a laugh as she realized that the thief had hit her true love upside the head for kissing his stepdaughter.

Henry made a face as he turned back to her, muttering, “And there’s a dozen of these?”

“I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t all do that – Daddy, Dad, Father, Pop; they’re all your family too. Even Papa sort of puts up with you now.”

“What about the mothers?”

“Well, let’s see,” she grinned. “Mother, Mommy, Ma; they won’t bother you about us. I don’t even think Mum will, for that matter.”

“Maybe not, but Aunt Z is just my aunt; she’s your stepmother, plus I wouldn’t put it past Anastasia or even Belle to flay me alive if I hurt you.”

Grace nearly laughed out loud at the idea of Belle “flaying” anyone, answering flippantly instead, “Then don’t hurt me.”

“Never,” Henry promised, stealing a third kiss.

Someone made a noise of protest at the bar behind them, and they turned to the sound in time to see Baelfire slap Will on the shoulder and promise dryly, “You’ll get used to them eventually.”

“It’s payback for having to be around you and Mama this morning,” Grace informed Will tartly, kissing Henry on the cheek just because she could.

But Henry and Grace’s moment of feeling alone in the room had ended and she looked around the room for her people. Archie, Bae, and Will, were at the bar, along with Grace’s step-uncle, Sean. Ruby, Granny, Ashley, and Anastasia were all behind the counter, laughing and chatting as they worked. Belle, Rumplestiltskin, Arabella, Neal, and Emma were at a table. Regina, Daniel, Jefferson, and Zelena were at another table. Hook, Milah, Kathryn, and Frederick – four people who had become like aunts and uncles to Grace – were at another table with Snow and Charming, who were, in essence, grandparents of a sort to her and Henry both. And Henry, always Henry, standing right there at her side.

All of these people had shown up to support Jefferson and Zelena in their engagement, and there were a lot of people here. They were everywhere, she realized, overwhelmed with a sense of awe once again as she looked at Jefferson once again.  She had come a long way since being a little girl with no family but her papa, and she had found a marvelous family along the way. It was a broken family in a way, made up of broken people – because all of them were at least a little scarred in their own way – but still good…

Grace smiled, leaning into Henry’s side and feeling right at home surrounded by the family that her heart – and not always just her blood – had chosen for her.

* * *

 

**_This is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good. ~ Lilo & Stitch_ **


End file.
